


Universal Language

by ToastyToaster22



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Communication Issues, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Happy Ending, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Original Character(s), PTSD, Syaoran gets a hug, Watanuki Kimihiro cameo, mentions of Li Yelan, post Nirai Kanai, syaoran needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-04-17 08:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14185377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToastyToaster22/pseuds/ToastyToaster22
Summary: Syaoran tried not to panic as Mokona's transportation circle lit underneath him. He looked around frantically for Fai or Kurogane. If they moved worlds while separated...OrIn which Syaoran gets a break from fighting and gets to enjoy domestic life for a little. Of course he would enjoy it much more if he could understand a word anyone was saying.





	1. Two Worlds

**Author's Note:**

> Even in trying to give this kid a break, I cause him more suffering.

Syaoran saw the water a split second before he dropped into the turbulent sea. He held his breath and desperately kicked against the erratic currents. They tugged powerfully at his clothes, and he briefly considered unclasping his cloak to rid himself of the weight. Syaoran really didn’t want to lose it. His eyes burned with the salt water and the world blurred black and grey. Swimming harder, his heart leapt when he felt his hand reach air. He pushed against the swirling ocean water and gasped when his head broke the surface.

His relief was short lived when his first breath in was paired with a blast of sea spray. He coughed and called out against the gale.

“Kurogane! Fai!”

The storm carried his voice away.

“Mokona!”

Lightning ripped the sky in two. The immediate crack of thunder nearly deafened him. Real fear seared through his body. The flash of light had momentarily illuminated terrifyingly massive waves in every direction. There was no sign of land.

Or of his friends.

It was a blessing the water wasn’t too cold, because trying to stay afloat in such a storm was already exhausting him. Syaoran turned in a sloppy circle, squashing down his mounting panic.

Nothing… nothing…nothing. Just waves and wind and how long could he stay like this?

He opened his mouth to call out again when a light flared from underneath him.

Mokona’s transportation circle.

Syaoran’s stomach lurched. As much as he was eager to get out of this world, he’d seen what happened when they changed worlds and weren’t immediately near each other. Kurogane and Fai were nowhere to be seen. He didn’t want to be separated. Last time, Kurogane and Fai had landed in the new world months before Syaoran and Sakura arrived.

Magic rose up around him, weakening the effects of the storm. He cast his eyes around frantically, searching for any sign of the ninja or mage.

The world fell away.

He was alone.

* * *

Landing in the next world was decidedly less violent, but the transition from swimming to standing could have gone better. Knees crashed into the grass and Syaoran caught himself with his hands before he ate the dirt. He took a moment to catch his breath, coughing against the salty water in his throat. The boy sat back on his knees, rubbing at his face. He blinked a few times, eyes stinging mildly.

Green and brown.

A forest stretched out around him, fresh leaves and buds sprouting from the branches. A cool breeze pushed its way between the trunks. It smelled of rain. Syaoran suppressed a shiver. Wherever he was, it looked to be late spring. Not the best time to be outside, soaking wet.

“Kurogane? Fai? Mokona?” He called through the wood.

Only the chittering of birds answered him.

Syaoran sighed and let himself have a moment of peace to collect his thoughts and rest his limbs. Just because his companions were not right here did not mean they weren’t close by.

He stood and wrung out his clothes the best he could, shaking his head to rid his hair of the worst of the water. Grimacing, he wiped his palms against his pants. Saltwater was going to leave him sticky and uncomfortable.

“I suppose things could be worse,” He muttered to himself. He hadn’t landed in the middle of a battle, or anywhere cold and icy.

Syaoran squinted up at the sun, then around, trying to pick a direction to start in. At the very least, moving around would warm him up. He put the sun to his back and wandered off through the sparse underbrush.

Not more than a dozen minutes later, the boy paused, listening furiously. It was distant, but he swore there were human voices coming from his right. He hurried in their direction, fists clenched in anticipation. It wasn’t much longer before he spotted the edge of the forest, the light much brighter beyond the trees.

It was a park.

A flat dirt trail ran alongside a wide, shallow river. They wound through fields of long grass and wildflowers, soft whites, purples and yellows decorating the light green. The sun shone stronger here, and he welcomed the growing warm spot across his shoulders. The breeze was persistent though, raising goosebumps on his bare arms.

Eyes wide, Syaoran made his way through the grass toward the trail. There were people here. Running. Walking. Relaxing on benches. On blankets in the grass.

Suddenly anxious, the teen turned his attention to the closest conversation.

His heart lurched, then fell.

Gibberish.

Mokona was out of range.


	2. Understood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for copious amounts of gibberish. Due to the nature of this story there is a lot of calculated keyboard mashing.

Syaoran hugged his cloak tighter around his chilled body. The sun was already starting to go down. That in itself was off-putting. They had eaten breakfast in the other world only a few hours before traveling, and it was already close to night here? He’d only been here an hour or two. The similarity to the stopped time Clow set him on edge. He tried to reassure himself. There was nothing strange going on here. No one was going to melt. All that was over. There was always a slight difference in the time flow, it just happened to be more distinct here. Everyone seemed at ease. Though he could feel a weak undercurrent of magic in the air, it didn’t seem like something people wielded outwardly. 

The boy sighed, rubbing cold hands together.

All of his attempts to talk to the residents had gone nowhere. Most of them had been apologetic when they realized they couldn’t understand him. Some hadn’t even responded, shrugging uselessly and walking away. Two people had actively ignored his attempts to talk.

There were very few people left in the park now, the majority probably having gone home for dinner. It would be easy to follow someone out of the park and find some place to warm up or eat. However…

Fai had the money from the last world. Mokona had their tradable items.

Syaoran grimaced. 

Even if he found a restaurant, he might not be able to negotiate to work for a meal. He probably didn’t look the most presentable either. He swore he could feel salt crusting in his hair.

An older couple walked past where he sat, and an urgency to get someone to understand gripped him.

“Excuse me!” 

The woman turned, surprised at being addressed. She paused, looking him up and down, confusion furrowing her brow. The man she was with tapped her elbow and said something dismissive. She nodded absently and started walking away again.

Syaoran got to his feet, hastily taking a few steps towards them.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry, but-“

The grey haired man turned his head and snapped something at him shortly. 

Syaoran hesitantly took another step, hands up pleadingly.

“Please, can you tell me-“

The agitated man spun around, his expression turning ugly.

“Hejro rencel!” He waved an arm in Syaoran’s direction. His wife pursed her lips, but did not interfere.

“Please…”

“Hejro graenana!”

Syaoran stumbled back at the hostility, the old man taking a threatening step at him. He was in no danger from this man, but starting a fight was no way to gain anyone’s trust here. Looking around nervously, he saw that the scattered few people still in the area were starting to stare.

“Hengou nal meansaha, louro hu!” The angry man stomped, gesturing for Syaoran to leave them be.

“Sorry,” He bowed his head.

Warm fingers suddenly touched feather light on the back of his arm. 

“Su searh he fleaneh?” A young woman was at his side, a wary but stern stare leveled at the older man. 

A second later a young man with short brown hair stood beside her, looking distinctly unimpressed.

“Homnu lernuh ahm,” The angry man grumbled in exasperation, pointing at Syaoran. 

Behind him, the man’s wife was beginning to look embarrassed.

“Reshna jherno nina ghohnu. Meshunofa nea,” The young man retorted blandly. 

The young woman’s fingers pressed gently on his chilled arm and Syaoran let himself be led away from the confrontation. Warmth and gratitude spread through his chest. They were defending him. He looked up at his rescuer and his throat tightened. Short brown hair and green eyes. 

He blinked.

That was where the resemblance ended. The woman’s hair was wavy, and much darker than Sakura’s. She was taller too. Taller than he was by a good six inches. And a grown person, besides. While this woman was not large, she had obviously bypassed the gangly teenager stage years ago. 

She led him over to a table with benches and sat herself down.

“Munnos, roashna hamn ho?” She asked.

Syaoran frowned. He had little idea of what she had said or how to reply. He bowed his head and shrugged one shoulder. They had helped this much, but how on earth was he going to communicate further with them?

The woman bit her lip at his lack of reply and peered back over her shoulder. Her companion was heading in their direction already, the older couple hustling away down the path.

“Lenohan mau na?” She asked when the young man was close enough.

Syaoran caught a flicker of disgust on his face as he sat beside the woman on the bench.

“Wanamashii,” He said bluntly.

The young woman scoffed, shooting a less than pleased glare at the retreating figures. Then she turned, a more pleasant smile on her face, and they both looked at him expectantly.

Syaoran fidgeted.

He finally had someone’s undivided attention and he had no idea what to do. Where should he start? How could he get them to understand that he had nowhere to go? That he was looking for people that might not even be in this world?

Opting for manners first, he bowed again and thanked them for their kindness. They smiled, clearly understanding the gesture if not the words. The man’s eyes crinkled at the corners and he waved off the thanks.

A timid grin eased its way onto Syaoran’s face for the first time in hours.

“Majhops fren lon?” He asked the teen.

There went his smile. He could be asking anything. His name. Where he came from. Why that man was yelling at him…

Syaoran swallowed tightly, looking back and forth between the couple, hoping for some sort of a clue.

“Ma reunhe famealo,” The woman said quietly to her partner.

The man hummed, scratching a hand through hair shorter than Syaoran’s.

“Kajako taklawo?” 

Syaoran blinked in astonishment. The words the man had just said had a completely different accent than before. He still couldn’t understand it though.

“Yawamzo quoalo wala?” 

Different again, this time from the woman. 

“Plemjajh krojomah?” 

The boy stared. They were trying out languages to see if he understood any of them. Was it common in this world to know more than one language? Amazing. None of the languages sounded the least bit familiar, but he appreciated the gesture greatly.

The woman suddenly burst into a bright smile, energetically saying something to her companion. She dug something out of her pocket and pulled out a small, round device the size of her palm. It was flat like a pancake and had a square screen on its front. She poked it and the thing lit up with a faint tone. Touching a few spots on the screen, she seemed optimistic about something. Her partner (was he her boyfriend? Husband? Brother? They looked similar enough, the same dark hair and pale skin.) looked hopeful as well.

The woman held up a hand and gestured between her mouth and the device. She spoke to the little machine in one of the funny accented languages they had tried on him a moment before. There was a second or two of quiet before the device beeped and said a word in a slightly stilted tone.

Syaoran’s mind raced. Did it translate? Or tell a person what language was being spoken? Technology was apparently quite advanced here, though it didn’t quite hold up to what he’d seen in Piffle. As far as he could see, there wasn't anything flying through the air besides birds.

She held the device out to him and he gently took it from her. It was warm from being in her pocket and Syaoran sighed at the feeling on his numbing fingers.

“My name is Syaoran. Thank you for helping me,” He spoke clearly, holding the device closer to his mouth than was probably necessary.

Silence. 

Then the device beeped. And that was all. 

The pair across from him frowned.

“Muhnna lahandh? Promoli sholonah hum le?” They asked each other.

“Yemnah.”

The young man gestured at him, miming talking and slowly spreading his hands apart.

Uh…. Oh! He wanted him to say more. Maybe the device needed a longer sample.

“Thank you for helping me out. I’m sorry I don’t understand what you’re saying. I hope this works.”

They waited in anticipation.

Beep.

“Mahna seo la,” Was the reply from the device.

Syaoran looked up at the couple, trying to gauge their reactions. 

They both looked incredulous. The woman leaned forward and squinted at the device as if it had personally wronged her. The man shook his head, taking the device back and trying it himself twice. He handed it back to Syaoran and made a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

“What did it say?” He asked.

Beep.

“Mahna seo la,” It repeated robotically.

They wore identical expressions of dismay. Syaoran’s stomach twisted. It was asking for a miracle for this machine to be able to identify a language from another world, but they’d seemed so confident…

He offered the thing back to the woman, shoulders shrinking inward and expression apologetic. She took it back and shook it, huffing. Syaoran tugged his cloak around him tighter. Now that the sun was at a severe enough angle, the whole park was shaded by the neighboring forest. For the moment, he ignored his company as they mumbled between themselves. His fingernails were turning purple. He was starting to shiver. His stomach yearned for a hot meal. He had no place to stay and he had no idea how cold it would get at night here. No money. No language. No Fai. No Kurogane. No Mokona.

Things could be worse.

But they still seemed pretty miserable.

A hand waved to get his attention. The woman smiled and pressed her hand to her own chest, saying a word.

Her name. She was trying to tell him her name. Syaoran straightened, trying to replicate the syllables. 

She repeated herself.

Syaoran’s pronunciation was off, but she nodded encouragingly anyway. 

Briina.

The man beside her named himself as well.

Wrennen.

They gazed at him, eyes bright with success.

“Syaoran.”

It took them a few tries, but eventually they were able to say it so that it was recognizable. That was something at least.

“Syaoran,” Briina pointed to him, then the empty space beside him on the bench, then a questioning gesture with her hands raised.

The boy looked down at the bench, not understanding. Did she think there was someone there? He tilted his head at her, hoping she’d elaborate.

Wrennen snapped his fingers like he had an idea. He held one up in front of himself, then with his other hand held one up in front of Briina. He dropped one hand and linked his arm through her’s, holding up two fingers on his other hand. Then he pointed at Syaoran, one finger up, and with his other hand gestured to the empty seat, one finger, two fingers, three, four, five. Hands raised in a question.

_Are you with anyone? How many?_

Suddenly getting it, Syaoran held one finger in front of his chest, and three up beside him. Pretended to link his arm through someone else’s, held up four fingers. He was counting Mokona, and there was no way for them to know she wasn't exactly a person... but she was one of his companions nonetheless.

Briina pointed at the space beside him, around at the park, raised her hands.

_Where are they?_

How could he explain something so complex? Well, maybe he could go with the honest answer that was simpler.

He shook his head, shrugging.

_I don’t know._

Briina and Wrennen looked at each other, then stood from the bench. Startled, Syaoran hurried to his feet as well. Were they leaving him? 

He must have looked panicked, because when Briina looked at him, her eyes widened and she held her hands up. The young woman gestured to all three of them, then her eyes, and around to the park.

Oh. They were going to help him look.

He tried to calm his heart and nodded to his companions in thanks. Wrennen offered him a reassuring smile and placed a hand on his smaller shoulder. Syaoran froze when he pulled it back, rubbing his now wet fingers together. Wrennen’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Han aleh shenwa, Briina,” He said.

Briina looked shocked, giving Syaoran a once over and frowning in concern.

Syaoran,” She mimed swimming and pointed back to the river, her face incredulous.

Both Syaoran and Wrennen shook their heads. 

“Rhemna whruh,” The young man said.

Briina’s eyebrows rose in disbelief.

Syaoran wondered how far the ocean was from here. Exactly how outrageous was it that he was salty?

Briina stepped closer to him, holding her hand out towards him but not touching.

Asking permission.

Syaoran didn’t love the idea of strangers touching him, but he also needed their help and didn’t want to offend her. Different countries had different personal boundaries. He gave a tiny nod. She was gentle. Briina’s hand was so warm on his cheek. The temperature difference sent a shiver through him.

Briina’s eyes widened. Her hand dropped to his, and determination blossomed across her face. She turned and tugged Syaoran with her, calling over her shoulder to Wrennen, who hurried after them.

“Mehna haos wehmna. Loahm se na hunur.”

Syaoran was not exactly sure what was happening, but he was decently certain these two were not planning to hurt him. Briina had his hand, but her grip was loose enough for him to easily twist out of if need be.

Wrennen sidled up beside him, chuckling lightly. Syaoran had the feeling it was due to the muttering Briina was doing under her breath as she marched them along.

“Yamuhn hea wha,” He said lightly, a smile on his lips.

Briina slowed considerably, looking back to her significant other (Syaoran was pretty sure) with a light blush. She caught Syaoran staring up at her, and sent him a tender smile. 

Such a soft, warm smile. With her hand in his, and that smile, Syaoran swore it was his mother, Sakura, looking down at him. He looked away quickly, blinking away the image. He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Syaoran left the park with his eyes on his shoes.

If Briina noticed him holding on a little tighter, she didn’t comment.


	3. Drawing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not supposed to be so upsetting. Oops.

They hurried through the park and came out to a large dirt lot. A few small, streamlined vehicles were scattered across vaguely marked spots. Though their designs were similar to that of Piffle’s flying machines, each of these would stay solidly on the ground if the wheels were anything to go by.

Briina led him toward one of the smaller cars, light blue and wider than most of the others.

Unease flared in Syaoran’s chest. He could fight. He was strong when he needed to be, but honestly, he did not want to fight the only people who were offering him help. The problem was just that he did not want to get in any kind of enclosed vehicle unless he was the one in control of it. Which was obviously not going to be the case here. Syaoran never wanted to be at someone else’s mercy again.

He also had no idea of where they would be taking him.

The boy tugged his hand out of Briina’s, his steps faltering.

He needed their help.

He didn’t want to get in the car.

Briina paused and looked back at him, confused by his reluctance. He eyed the car and shook his head resolutely, hoping he wasn’t being incredibly rude.

She blinked at him, then her green eyes widened and she waved her hands dismissively. The woman gestured that he could stay where he was, her and Wrennen then rummaging through their car. What they were looking for, Syaoran had no idea.

He was getting frustrated already. How on earth had Kurogane and Fai endured six months of this in Yama? At least they had had each other. Even if they couldn’t talk, he would feel much better with one of them around.

Briina popped back out of the back seat, two bundles of cloth in her arms. She came over and tucked one to her side with her elbow, holding the first up for display. It was a hooded shirt, the fabric thick and fuzzy. The color was brighter than Syaoran had seen in a while, green with swirls of white on the sleeves.

The other was larger, probably Wrennen’s. It was almost entirely black and Syaoran found himself thinking of Kurogane, homesickness for his companions swirling in his belly.

Briina offered both, apparently asking him to choose.

Their generosity heartened him. He slowly reached out and took the green one, biting back a sigh at how warm it was. Sitting in a sunbaked car all afternoon had toasted it.

Briina smiled happily and tossed the black shirt back through the still open door of the car. It almost landed on Wrennen’s bent head and Briina giggled at his indignant shout. Syaoran felt his mouth twitch, not quite smiling at their antics.

The woman reached out and gestured to Syaoran’s damp shirt and cloak, miming taking them off and pointing to the car.

Syaoran squirmed slightly. He wished, not for the first time, that there were some kind of pamphlet that came with each country they visited. Then they could know the customs, proper manners, what not to do… Syaoran had bowed to a man a few countries back and he had been beyond offended. If Briina was offering for him to change his shirt out here in what was a rather public place, then it couldn’t be inappropriate, right? It seemed slightly indecent to strip in front of a woman he barely knew, even if it was just his shirt. It was probably Briina’s shirt too. Was it okay for him to wear women’s clothing here? The styles had appeared almost identical, the coloring being the main difference.

Briina seemed to take his hesitance for bashfulness and snickered, making a show at covering her eyes and looking away.

Blushing, the boy quickly peeled off his sticky shirt and wrapped his cloak around it. He held the bundle between his knees and pulled the hoodie over his head. It fit decently well overall. The sleeves fell to his fingertips, but he found he didn’t mind. The heated fabric was heaven against his chilled skin and he couldn’t resist hugging his arms to himself for a moment, relishing the feel.

The material was strange. Not quite like anything they had seen so far in their travels. He had felt incredible silks and satins, but this was different. It was undoubtedly the softest piece of clothing he had ever worn, fluffy and light. Like everything he had seen people wearing here so far, it was loose and flowing.

“Hanarh ma?” Briina asked, peeking through her fingers.

“Yeah, I’m all done,” He replied.

She took the roll of wet clothes from his hands and put them on the back seat. Briina eyed him curiously, giving Syaoran a thumbs-up with an inquisitive sound.

“It’s wonderful, thanks,” He found talking made him feel less awkward, even if Briina wouldn’t know what his individual words meant.

He added a thumbs-up of his own, grateful that the gesture was familiar.

Briina was clearly delighted.

Wrennen joined them, satisfied with whatever he had rearranged in the car. He passed Briina a clear bottle with water in it. The man also held out a small colorful box, offering it to Syaoran.

He had been so preoccupied with being cold that he hadn’t realized how thirsty he was. The saltwater had left his mouth dry and his throat parched.

Syaoran turned the box over in his hands. It was clearly a drink, but he didn’t recognize the lumpy pink fruit depicted on the front. It was completely sealed, which, while that was great and he knew it hadn’t been tampered with, meant he had no inkling of how to get it open.

Glancing up through his bangs, he snuck a peek at the couple. They were chattering between themselves again, leaning against the car. That was fine. He didn’t need people staring at him when he tried to figure out something that a child could probably open easily. There was a little triangle printed on a slightly raised tab on the right edge of the box. He gave it a tug, surprised when the tab peeled open a hole and a straw popped out on its own.

It was good. Oh wow, was it good.

Sweet, refreshing juice flooded his mouth, satisfying even if it was warm. He drank with gusto, disappointed when the box emptied quickly and the straw sucked loudly at air. Embarrassed at the noise, Syaoran looked up quickly, but Briina and Wrennen hadn’t moved.

They did look at him, however, when his stomach proceeded to give a ridiculously garish grumble.

He flushed tomato red at their amused faces.

* * *

 

Syaoran sat patiently on his side of the booth as Wrennen ordered for them. Briina was off at the front desk for something, but the boy had no clue what. When the two of them had heard how hungry he was, they’d whisked him out of the park (walking, they had left the car behind in the lot) and guided him through a bustling downtown to a restaurant. He had protested lightly, turning out his pockets and showing them that he had no money to pay with. Their response had been to look confused, and they had gestured that he was small and they were big. Syaoran wondered if children didn’t often carry money in this world. He was also slightly irked at being labeled as “small”. He didn’t feel like a child after everything he’d been through, and it was odd to be treated as such.

Syaoran had been shocked to see that the park was in the middle of such a busy area, the trees blocked the sounds of the cars and rushing people amazingly efficiently. Colorful, squat buildings lined the streets, and flags with countless different symbols flapped everywhere. The restaurant they’d picked was only a five or so minute walk from the park, mouthwatering smells wafting out onto the sidewalk. The staff had been able to seat them immediately, despite the number of customers crowded inside.

Wrennen nodded to their server, smiling when Briina pushed her way through the congested dining room. She dropped onto the bench and excitedly placed some items on the table.

Paper, Syaoran realized. And a couple stubby writing tools. They were most likely for entertaining children while they waited for their food to be delivered. Before he could raise his eyebrows at this, (okay, he knew he was short, but how old did these people think he was?) Briina pushed a paper and writing thing towards him. She gestured to the empty seat beside him like she had in the park, and then tapped the paper.

_Draw your companions._

Okay, that was actually super helpful.

Unbidden, Fai’s drawings from Outo popped into his mind. Big and Little Puppy. Big and Little Kitty. Syaoran laughed a little at the memory of Kurogane’s outrage, even if he’d only seen it secondhand.

He picked up a black thing and started drawing his tallest companion. The crayon like writing tool was softer than he expected, and a little greasy.

Briina and Wrennen watched in interest as he colored in Kruogane’s cloak, his red eyes being the only spot of color in his portrait. Fai was blue and yellow, a big smile on his face to contradict Kurogane’s scowl. It felt wrong to outline Mokona in black, so he picked a pink and lightly sketched her round body. Who knew if her drawing would alarm or confuse them, but Mokona was pretty distinctive, and they might be able to pick her out of a crowd faster than his human friends.

Briina’s eyes widened and she pointed urgently to Mokona’s image when he put his crayon down. She seemed emphatic, making gestures Syaoran couldn’t place. Startled, Syaoran looked to Wrennen for help. The man reverently picked up the paper, gazing back and forth from little Mokona to Syaoran, eyes intense. Briina must have been talking to herself, or otherwise Wrennen was ignoring her nonstop chatter.

Unsettled by their reaction, the teen leaned away slightly. He hadn’t been sure about what they would think of Mokona, but if anything, they seemed to recognize her. That had never happened before.

Wait.

If they recognized Mokona, maybe Fai and Kurogane had arrived in this world before him! Had they been around, trying to find him for a while?

Hope seared in Syaoran’s chest, a bright smile gracing his face at the thought of reuniting so quickly. He nearly bounced out of his seat to point at Mokona, to his eyes, then out to the town beyond the wide windows.

 _Have you seen Mokona_?

Both of them stilled. Wrennen repeated the series of movements followed by a shake of his head.

Syaoran frowned, hope fading.

Briina reached out and patted his hand gently, concerned by his apparent disappointment. She picked out a yellow crayon and took the drawing from her partner. The woman hesitated then, pausing and looking at Syaoran instead. She pointed at him, then with a quiet, serious face, turned her finger upwards.

Taken literally, Syaoran supposed she was asking if he was from the sky. Which technically was the truth. He had a feeling that wasn’t quite what she meant.

The boy bit his lip, unsure of exactly how to answer.

Briina shrugged, turning her attention to the drawing. Wrennen muttered something to her, but she shook her head distractedly.

When she handed the picture back to the boy, she had added two things to the drawing. For one, he was there, a smile on his face and a little cape flowing behind him. Two, all four figures now had bird like wings.

Did they think he was an angel? Were there creatures that looked similar to Mokona here?

He crossed out the wings on each of the people, but left them on Mokona. After all, she did grow wings when they moved worlds. It felt like a lie to say they weren’t right.

They both hummed at his changes, not seeming surprised that he had left the wings on the funny little creature. The table was quiet for a few minutes, all of them deep in thought.

Wrennen was the one who moved first, doodling a quick version of himself on a corner of a paper. Next to it, he started putting tally marks. Pointed to Briina and did more. Twenty-nine for himself. Twenty-eight for Briina. He pushed the paper to Syaoran.

The teen looked at the paper. Why was everything so difficult to answer? He was… he was… Well, he’d existed for twenty-one years. At least. Maybe twenty-two. It was really hard to tell when time flowed differently in every world. If it was late spring here then it was possible he was technically twenty-two.

Except he was sort of fourteen. Or fifteen. Maybe.

Did living seven years of your life twice make you older? He’d had his body magically altered to be younger again, (he tried to repress a shudder) but he retained all his memories from that in between time.

Tentatively, Syaoran marked down fourteen tallies. Thought about it some more… cautiously added one more. They would never believe he was in his twenties even if he could explain it to them. Which he did not want to do.

Briina looked appropriately worried at how long it took him to figure out his own age. Wrennen didn’t react much at all. She took the paper back and drew two quick figures, a man and a woman, and added a little heart between them. Under the heart, she drew a figure with a cape. Him. She pointed to the man and the woman and gestured around questioningly.

She was asking where his parents were and he felt like dying.

Wrennen hissed something and Briina sounded incredibly apologetic, but Syaoran couldn’t rip his eyes away from the small drawing. His eyes were thankfully dry, but his throat was tight. Their little smiling faces were burning into his brain. When was the last time they had been together and smiling as a family? Before Fai and Kurogane. Before all of this… Before _Sakura_. He had the uncontrollable desire to go _home_. Except that was impossible. Impossible for so many reasons, but he wanted it and it _hurt_.

A hand removed the paper from his sight.

He stared at the wood grain of the table until Wrennen made a soft, inquisitive sound. Slowly, Syaoran swallowed and looked up, meeting the older man’s eyes. Wrennen circled the doodle that was Syaoran, and drew an arrow over to point to between Fai and Kurogane. He drew Syaoran there instead and circled the three of them in one big loop.

Syaoran was pretty damn sure the man was asking if Fai and Kurogane had adopted him.

A fierce fondness for his travelling companions flared through his body. He grabbed a red crayon and encircled all of them, including Mokona, in a large heart shape. The boy nodded purposefully.

Wrennen nodded back, smiling just a bit. Briina was bright red, horrified tears brimming in her eyes at having upset him. It seemed to Syaoran to be somewhat of an overreaction seeing as they had only known each other an hour. Her partner just looked at her and sighed, patting her arm as she bowed her head and apologized again.

They were saved from any more conversation when the food arrived.

It was nothing short of delicious, and Syaoran felt just a little bit better.

* * *

 

Briina and Wrennen were… well, arguing wasn’t quite the right word… discussing… something with the town officials. The police, or whatever this country’s law enforcement was called. They had been at the police station for over an hour now. Syaoran had done more detailed drawings of his three companions, had his picture taken, (which both weirded him out and amazed him) a little grey ball had taken an electronic scan of his hand, and he’d been talked at by three different people.

He didn’t understand a word of what they said.

So he sat on a bench while the adults talked everything out. An uncomfortable bench. He wiggled his toes in his cold shoes. Everything was mildly uncomfortable. His hair and pants were dry, but were gritty and stiff. Briina’s shirt was fantastic, but he had nothing on under it and this office was abnormally cool. His shoes still somehow squelched when he walked, and he was going to get blisters soon for sure. Nothing life threatening. Just irritating.

He had no idea what was going to happen now and he hated the anxiety that sat heavy in his stomach. It was almost enough to make him regret eating so much at dinner.

“Lamme hurafa moa?” Briina exclaimed suddenly, sounding astonished. And not in a good way.

The officer they were talking to was getting frustrated. He brandished a piece of paper and a pen at them. Whatever he was saying sounded like an ultimatum. Syaoran tried to ignore how often he heard his name.

He picked absently at his nails until silence rang through the building.

Looking up in concern, he saw Briina and Wrennen staring at each other, stunned. He really didn’t like any of this. What was going on? The two turned and approached him uncertainly. Syaoran found himself standing to meet them, his heart thumping in a sickening manner.

“Syaoran,” Briina got his attention, then gestured to the floor, and mimed sleeping. Gestured to herself and Wrennen and pointed at the door.

Were they going to leave him here?

“Syaoran,” Wrennen gestured to all three of them, pointed out the door and mimed sleeping.

They both put their hands up in a questioning gesture.

Syaoran looked between them, and then back to the unamused looking officer at the counter. If they were letting him choose, it was an easy choice. This place felt a whole lot like jail. He took a step towards Wrennen.

“I want to go with you two,” He said, hoping they’d understand.

Briina nodded, huffing out a loud breath. She went back to the desk and spent the next few minutes filling out paperwork. Wrennen stood by Syaoran the whole time, a hand on his shoulder.

Looked like he would be getting in their car after all.


	4. Pancakes Are a Language, Fight Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Syaoran actually gets to relax. It must be a miracle.

Syaoran watched in interest as the town passed by. The sun had warmed the car enough that they were driving with the windows down, and Syaoran leaned his head out slightly to see better. The downtown had been jam packed with people and activity, glittering lights adding a yellowish glow to the darkening city. The sun had dipped below the horizon a little while after they entered the police station. This world had remarkably long sunsets. Purples and oranges bathed the cloud-streaked sky.

Briina and Wrennen spoke quietly in the front, voices light despite how tense they had been at the station. Syaoran felt a spark of guilt at his decision. He was sure the couple hadn’t expected to be taking some mysterious person home tonight, and yet here they were. They _had_ offered, and the teen felt much more comfortable with them than the stoic officers.

He pulled in a calming breath and leaned his head on his arm, blinking against the wind. The further they drove from the center of town, the higher the streets climbed. Stores dropped away, replaced by sprawling homes with large, clearly marked yards. Everything appeared methodical, even the plant life here was manicured into orderly shapes. Sporadically, Syaoran could sense a brief stir of something magical. It was never anything as potent as a spell. More like the natural magic of the world being tugged in a certain direction.

Higher they went, and Syaoran couldn’t help but twist around in his seat to peer out behind them. His eyes widened in awe. The whole city was mapped out below, having been built in the center of a massive depression. He could see the hills rising up on the far side of town. The city very well could have been built in a crater. He caught sight of the river in the park, reflecting the vivid colors of the sky and winding out towards the west.

Wrennen noticed his curiosity. He turned in the passenger’s seat and pointed back at the glowing town.

“Shinchamwa,” He told him.

Then he motioned up in the direction they were driving.

“Hahuen ma.”

The large homes too, faded away and in their place multifamily apartments sprouted up. Simple things with only a few floors and neat little patches of grass. They each stood independently, unlike the large blocks of housing Syaoran had seen in more populated worlds. He started spotting clotheslines stretching between buildings the closer they were. Covered balconies sprang out from every floor, outdoor stairs twisting up pastel colored walls.

As the buildings grew closer together, they also grew taller, four, five, six stories. The longer they drove away from the center of the city, the taller everything became. The trees in town had been of average height, yet here they were now towering twenty, thirty feet over the roofs. The trees were thin and spindly, their branches weaving around the tops of the apartments. The residents here made up for their lack of yard by bringing nature with them. Vibrant ivies and creeping vines hung from pots on nearly every balcony, the plants making themselves at home by twining around railings and bannisters.

They turned onto a side street at last, a good ten minutes from the park. Briina crept the car slowly through the tight street, waving at children who scurried around in raucous groups. The night was full of the chatter of unfamiliar animals, and Syaoran found he couldn’t even picture what kinds of creatures would fit such sounds. A moment later, the car jerked to a stop and one small part of his curiosity was quenched.

Briina grumbled lightly and shook her finger admonishingly at an animal that slunk low across the street in front of the vehicle, its long body rippling as it hurried off into a spot of tall grass.

“What was that?” He craned his neck as they started moving again.

“Mmm? Ushuyi,” Wrennen answered his question.

Or at least Syaoran thought he did.

“Onh _wromma_ ushuyi,” Briina sounded like she was correcting her partner, or else, insulting the creature.

It might have been the latter, because Wrennen chuckled at her.

After another minute or two Briina turned the car and pulled them into a spot in front of one of the shorter buildings. Only four floors whereas most of the surrounding ones had at least five.

Syaoran stepped out of the car and looked around, apprehensive in spite of the kind-heartedness his hosts were showing him.

Briina hopped out, shooting him a reassuring smile. She put a hand on his upper arm and pointed up to the third floor.

“Leomu uhra!”

The boy assumed it was something along the lines of ‘That’s us!’ or ‘We’re home!’

He carried his bundle of clothes and followed the couple up three steep flights of stairs. Briina and Wrennen called out greetings to neighbors out on other balconies as they passed. Syaoran nodded to them politely. The family on the third floor of another apartment had a couple young children, and Syaoran was startled to see a baby sized swing hanging over the railing from the porch roof. It had to be at least thirty feet off the ground.

Briina and Wrennen’s own balcony space had only two chairs and a low table between them. A waterfall of ivy fell from the overhanging roof and coiled around the corner railing post before continuing its decent to the second floor.

The dark haired woman took out the little translating device from her pocket and pressed it to a depression above the doorknob. Two low beeps stuttered out from the machine and Syaoran heard a click from inside. Briina opened the door inwards and flicked on some lights. Apparently, it did more than translate.

Syaoran wavered, but Wrennen held out a hand, offering for him to go first. The boy tried to give the man a thankful smile, but he wasn’t sure he pulled it off. He stepped into the apartment, moving to the side to let Wrennen enter after him. Syaoran took off his shoes and put them next to where Briina had tossed hers. It felt amazing to have the soggy things off his feet, but he frowned down at his equally sodden socks.

Wrennen made a big show of taking his shoes and socks off. If it was for Syaoran’s benefit, he was grateful for the go ahead to remove his socks. He was sure they didn’t want him tracking sea water onto their carpets. Syaoran followed suit, tucking his socks into his rolled cloak.

“Fumer mo nah,” Wrennen waved for him to come further inside, and proceeded to give a quick tour.

The apartment was mostly one open room, split into a living area and kitchen by a waist high wall. The living space had a large table, a couch, and a screen mounted on the wall. Two doors in the back of the apartment were to the bedroom and the bathroom, where Briina was puttering about and pulling things out of closets. Plants overflowed from pots in the most curious places. On top of cabinets and the fridge, hanging in corners, and one vine that crept in the window over the sink from outside.

The thing that interested Syaoran the most were two support beams. One stood next to the couch, and the other was built into the wall by the bedroom. Intricately painted scrolls hung from each side. Each one with its own symbols and designs. He could feel magic slowly wafting toward them, pulling in and then releasing. Syaoran stared at the closest one, never having seen anything quite like it.

Wrennen stood with him for a minute, letting him look at the scroll without comment. Syaoran shuffled around to the one closest to the door, looking to Wrennen for permission. The man watched him calmly, not indicating that Syaoran couldn’t investigate further. This one scroll felt different from the others. It was not pulling in, but instead pushing out steadily. The magic in this world felt extraordinarily mild, and because of that, the push was not very powerful.

Even still, Syaoran swore this one was a ward.

“Wrennen?” He asked.

The taller man joined him, humming in a questioning tone.

“Um,” He wondered how to convey what he wanted to have confirmed.

He pointed to the scroll, and then turned to the door, arms out as if he were pushing something away. Then he took a step forward and crossed his arms, standing tall like a guard.

Wrennen’s eyebrows flew up, but he nodded.

That made Syaoran feel a little safer.

“Briina, herbhu frem shalnar,” Wrennen called back to his wife. (Syaoran was going to go ahead and assume they were married at this point.)

“Yammo?” Her head popped out of the bathroom, her face incredulous.

“Syaoran frym shalnar wran ma,” Wrennen gestured to the ward, eyes serious.

Briina came out to them, astonished at what Wrennen was telling her.

Syaoran bit his lip. Was it weird for him to be able to tell what the scroll was for? He curled his toes into the carpet, wondering if the residents here knew what they were intended for, but couldn’t actually sense the shift of magic in the air. If these scrolls were common for people to hang in their homes that would explain all the subtle tugging he felt during the car ride.

Briina looked from him to the ward a few times, eyebrows furrowing. She reached up and lightly touched the thick paper for a moment, then indicated for Syaoran to do the same. When he didn’t move, Wrennen squeezed his shoulder encouragingly and Briina smiled gently, giving him a thumbs up.

Not sure what was supposed to happen, Syaoran cautiously reached up and touched the ward. A soft ripple of energy pushed through his body leisurely. It raised the hair on his arms, but otherwise did not effect him.

When he turned his gaze to his hosts, Briina looked triumphant and Wrennen nodded his head approvingly.

“So that was good?” He asked them.

Briina smiled widely at him, her eyes soft. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and guided him off to the bathroom where she’d filled the tub.

Syaoran was certain he had just passed some kind of test.

* * *

 

Awareness came to Syaoran slowly. Eyelashes fluttered on his cheeks and he let out a contented sigh. The darkness was alluring, trying to drag him back into a blissful slumber. He couldn’t remember the last time he had such a difficult time waking for the simple reason of being so comfortable. It took his sleep-muddled mind a long minute to remember where he was.

Briina had encouraged him to take as long a bath as he liked, though he felt a little bad for indulging as much as he had. When he came out dressed entirely in borrowed clothes, they had made up the couch for him, an impressive pile of blankets as his disposal. The two had gifted him with a glass of water and permission to eat anything from their fridge before they bade him goodnight. Syaoran was glad to retire early and fell asleep faster than he expected, especially with the upstairs neighbors talking as loud as they were.

The boy let out a yawn and turned his head to snuggle deeper into the pillow. Except he couldn’t exactly do that, because halfway there, his cheek pressed up against something warm and soft that was definitely not his blanket. His first thought was that it was Mokona, as Mokona often slept curled into his neck… but that wasn’t possible, was it?

Half asleep and mildly confused, Syaoran cracked his eyes open, blinking against the grey light of dawn. Amber eyes flew open when his brain recognized not only what was cuddled into his shoulder, but what was laid out over his chest as well.

“Uh…” He breathed, hoping not to disturb either of them.

Both creatures could have passed as cats if they had been a little less… translucent. They were clearly feline, but it was if they had been stretched. Long legs. Impossibly long tails. The one on his shoulder could have been a kitten. The one laid out on top of him, however, was huge. He would have guessed it weighed close to thirty pounds if it had any weight at all. He had mistaken the press of the creature for the heavy folds of his bedding, barely enough for him to notice at all. Syaoran could vaguely feel their presence now that he was aware of them. They were not magical per say, but they felt otherworldly in a way he had few words for.

 _Spirits_.

The large one raised its head at his thought. It was dignified, nearly regal in the way it gazed down at him with serene golden eyes.

Syaoran held his breath as the spirit leaned closer. Its whiskers puffed forward and tickled him as it sniffed and chuffed over his cheeks, his eyes, his ears. The boy couldn’t help but scrunch his face at the inspection. The little one huffed and gave a stretch at the disturbance, kneading almost imperceptible paws against his collarbone.

Satisfied, the larger spirit pulled back. It flicked out its tongue to lick at its nose and closed its eyes. A hum rumbled through Syaoran’s body rather than his ears, and his eyelids suddenly drifted lower, darkness tugging at him once again.

* * *

 

Syaoran woke a second time to the sound of heaving.

Throwing up never meant anything good when they were traveling. Illness, food poisoning, _actual_ _poisoning_ … it had all happened at some point since their journey began. He could feel his stomach coiling with nerves. He was off the couch and in front of the half-open bathroom door before he registered why his heart was pounding.

Syaroan knocked and pushed the door open, peeking his head in.

“Are you okay?

For a second the boy’s brain short-circuited, because it was not Fai, or Kurogane, or even Sakura kneeling over the toilet.

Briina lifted her head groggily and seemed to have a similar moment of noticing thatvthe young man in the doorway was not actually her husband.

Embarrassment flooded Syaoran before the woman had a chance to say anything.

“I’m so sorry for barging in! Forgive me, I wasn’t thinking,” He backed away and waved his hands in apology.

Briina opened her mouth to reply, then held up a finger and took a few shaky breaths. She grimaced and swallowed, then smiled at him and sent him a thumbs-up.

Wrennen shambled out of the bedroom, short hair sticking straight up in the back. He gave a jaw-cracking yawn and rubbed the heel of his hand into his eye before noticing the boy hovering around the bathroom door.

“Hanma, Syaoran.”

“Um, good morning?” He replied, at a loss at the complete lack of concern the man was showing for his currently retching wife.

Wrennen snuck past him, bare feet padding on the tile floor. He dropped a brief kiss to the top of Briina’s head, before regarding the contents of the toilet with a ‘bleh’ sound.

“Oshun wa?”

“Shun wa,” Briina mumbled, looking annoyed.

Syaoran wrung his hands, too worried to walk away, but nonetheless feeling like he was intruding.

The older man came back out, patting Syaoran casually on the back and waving for the boy to follow him to the kitchen. He started pulling things from the fridge and cabinets, a small pile of cooking tools growing on the counter.

Syaoran expected that he should help make breakfast, but was torn between offering his assistance, and asking about Briina.

Wrennen made the decision for him.

“Obra lim, lea,” He said, handing Syaoran two strangely colored eggs and pointing to a small bowl.

By the time Briina emerged from the bathroom, Syaoran had cracked and mixed the eggs, measured out two cups worth of a flour like powder, and was in the middle of peeling a tart green fruit. Wrennen insisted he leave the fragrant peelings on the counter. Why, Syaoran couldn’t fathom.

She looked refreshed, her wavy hair tidied and face washed. The woman downed an entire glass of water at once, sighing in relief.

“Hanma, Syaoran,” Briina grinned down at him.

“Ah… Good morning,” Syaoran said worriedly.

Briina got to work helping her husband mix the batter and prep the stove. When she spotted Syaoran still visibly fretting, she paused, leaning the whisk on the edge of the bowl. A thoughtful look softened her face, and she walked around Wrennen to approach him.

“Shun wa, Syaoran. Shun wa ne,” She ducked a little to look him in the eye.

She was trying to reassure him, but flashes of the last time one of them had vomited refused to leave his mind. Someone had tried to get Kurogane out of the way… Fai had been on the warpath… He hadn’t know what to _do_.

“Syaoran, ah… suna mea greanah.”

Briina accompanied the statement with a hand on her stomach, and then bringing both arms up like she were cradling…

Oh.

Oh, Briina was _pregnant_.

“Uh, congratulations!” He squeaked, his eyes wide.

He didn’t know anything about pregnancy. She couldn’t be far along, right? She wasn’t showing, though the clothes in this world were so loose that if she were, he may still not have guessed. Was morning sickness a good thing? A bad thing?

Briina giggled at his flushed face. Her hand gently patted her belly again, then she struck a pose that was clear. Followed it with the same signs reversed, and pointed to the bathroom.

_The baby is strong. Strong baby makes me vomit._

Syaoran nodded eagerly, accepting this wisdom without question.

Wrennen rolled his eyes at them and continued to make breakfast.

* * *

 

Briina sent him to set the table laden with dishware, and he set the table for three. He hovered awkwardly for a moment, unsure if he should help serve, but his hosts waved for him to sit. Syaoran was pleasantly surprised when Wrennen slapped three familiar items on his plate, along with a hefty serving of the fruit he peeled, now diced and heated with spices.

“Pancakes,” He murmured, thinking of Fai and his love of sweet dishes.

“Panshaegs?” Briina attempted, clearly unused to the word.

Excited, Syaoran perked up and bobbed his head in confirmation.

“Pan-cakes,” He repeated, slower this time.

“Panchaegs,” Wrennen gave it a shot as well.

Syaoran bit back a smile as the couple happily parroted the word at each other, chuckling at their own botched pronunciations. He spent the rest of breakfast teaching them to say Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona’s names. It would be helpful if he could refer to his friends without having to draw them every time. The language in this world had almost no hard consonants, the sounds soft and rolling of the tongue, nearly half the words ending in a lilting vowel.

A sudden heavy downpour outside interrupted them. Syaoran gawked as dozens of what he had assumed were leaves out on the balcony suddenly took cover. His jaw dropped even more when a swarm of lizards clambered over the open, vine-covered windowsill and onto the kitchen counter. They were every shade of green he could imagine, and even the occasional yellow or turquois, ranging from the size of his pinky to nearly a foot long.

They immediately pounced on Syaoran’s fruit peels.

“Wrennen!” Briina scolded, lips pursed with forced disapproval. Syaoran could see she was trying to hold in her laughter even as she slapped at his arm.

Her husband didn’t seem the least bit apologetic. He snickered and leaned out of her reach, picking a fruit chunk from his plate and lobbing it over her head towards the horde. A squabble broke out over it the instant it touched the floor.

“Syaoran,” Briina covered her face in exasperation.

The boy tried to hide his amusement as Briina managed to convey a message to him filled with arm waving and exaggerated facial expressions.

_No listen to Wrennen. He act serious. No. He is a child._

Syaoran filled his mouth with pancakes to stop himself from laughing at the fake offence on Wrennen’s face. Swallowing with difficulty, he supposed if he had to get stuck in a world alone… well, this place didn’t seem so bad.


	5. Sleep (or lack thereof)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay. Chapter 6 is underway and there should be more regular updates from here on out.

On the fourth morning at Briina and Wrennen’s apartment Syaoran woke to the sounds of pouring rain and a cacophony of joyous frogs singing.

It was hard to tell exactly how early it was, but it felt early. Syaoran groaned and pulled his pillow over his head to drown out the noise. He had no idea how long it had been since he had gotten three full night’s sleep in a row, but it was having the opposite effect he expected. The more sleep he got, the more exhausted his body seemed to realize he had been. Briina had sent him to bed just after dinner last night due to the fact that he almost took a nose-dive into his plate. 

Syaoran felt a little bad that sending him to bed had sort of subsequently sent the couple to bed as well. There was no guest room, so he was stuck out in the living room for the time being. If they wanted to turn out all the lights for him, they had to retreat to their own room. Wrennen seemed to be planning as if Syaoran was here for the long haul and had moved him from sleeping on the couch to a mattress on the floor in front of the bookcase. 

The man had noticed Syaoran peeking at all the books in the corner and encouraged him to look through them. The written language was completely alien to him, but Wrennen sorted through the stacks, making a pile of books with lots of pictures. They were a lot like textbooks, and Syaoran was thrilled that one might actually be an encyclopedia. He spent hours pouring over the pictures and diagrams. Without any explanations he wasn’t sure he had quite the grip on the information as he could have, but it was way better than nothing.

Briina had giggled over how studious he was, running off to the bedroom for a minute before returning with a smaller book. It was worn, the corners a little rounded and the edges a little brown. Obviously, a well-loved piece of literature. She handed it to him with a look that spoke volumes.

_You can borrow this but take good care of it._

The boy had been ecstatic when he opened it up, the pictures were bright and unmarred by time. It was some sort of nature guide. 

He happily spent most of that day running errands with Briina and identifying as much as he could. She had found his enthusiasm endlessly amusing. The woman helped him at times, flipping through the pages with well-practiced ease to find the right picture to match the plant he was looking at.

A ridiculously loud croak from the balcony startled Syaoran out of his near sleep.

Not a minute later Briina stumbled to the bathroom for her daily bout of morning sickness. Wrennen followed her out of the bedroom, eyelids drooping and steps heavy. He passed by where Syaoran lay and walked straight to the front window. The man opened it wider and leaned forward, looking around for something.

Syaoran was about ninety percent sure when Wrennen started talking that he was giving the frogs a very stern lecture.

Apparently, it was an early morning for everyone.

* * *

Briina handed him a small broom and the two of them got to work. Every time it rained the balcony needed to be swept. Which was a lot. It had rained every day he had been here so far, either early in the morning or close to dinner time. It was always a downpour, yanking the new buds and flower petals from the trees and plastering them to every flat surface. The balcony was the smallest bit warped, nothing one would notice when walking around, but the water puddled along the edge of the building. Sweeping the water off to the sides ensured it didn’t sit and start rotting the wood.

Syaoran yawned, his eyes watering. The air was cooler today, the sun still hiding behind some quickly moving clouds.

He looked up from where he’d cleared the water from near the stairs and caught Briina smiling at him. She did that a lot. It shouldn’t bother him. She was just being nice. Both her and Wrennen were so content here. No one’s life was perfect of course, but they seemed to have everything under control. Syaoran couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that being smiled at so much was unnerving. After so many worlds in serious conflict, waging wars, terrible crises… peace felt unnatural.

He kept having to remind himself to relax. He wasn’t being lulled into a false sense of security. It was calm here. No one had asked anything of him. In fact, when he managed to convey to his hosts that he would like to do some work for them, they had refused. Briina let him help around the house and carry groceries for her, but that was it.

Syaoran sucked in a deep breath and smiled back.

Briina scrunched her face up at him and wiggled her broom at him.

“Sheamlo pherle, Syaoran.”

He didn’t know what she said, but it sounded like she was teasing him. His shoulders inched towards his ears and he blushed lightly, unsure if he should be embarrassed.

She snorted and turned around, leaving him to his thoughts again.

He finished his area of the balcony quickly, flicking the damp petals off the end of the broom over the railing like he’d been shown. One of the people in the neighboring apartment called good morning to him from where he was cleaning his own balcony.

Syaoran offered the man a good morning as well, hoping the phrase Briina and Wrennen said to him each day was polite enough for strangers.

The older man waved shortly and retreated back into his home.

Syaoran was just a little bit proud of himself.

* * *

Wrennen didn’t get home until dinner was ready that night. Syaoran felt stirrings of irritation that he couldn’t just ask what the man did for work. It was easy to communicate about the house, the weather, food, and other items that were immediately visible. Abstract things like what someone did for work or asking about the spirits he kept seeing at night was close to impossible.

They ate quietly for the first time that night. It was clear to Syaoran that he wasn’t the only one who was drained. There were no clocks in the house, but it was clear that they’d all been up much earlier than usual.

He offered to do the dishes for them. He had to do something in return for their kindness or he was going to start feeling really awful. Luckily the couple was tired enough that after some light protests they caved. Wrennen patted him on the back in thanks before the two retired for the night.

Syaoran plugged the sink and turned on the hot water, watching it splash and swirl against the porcelain. He could hear his hosts walking around in the other room.

And then it was quiet. Their lamp clicked off and the slip of light that always shown out from the crack under the door disappeared.

Syaoran curled his toes against the cool tile. This was the first time he was the last one up. Wrennen was a night owl it seemed, and Syaoran could almost always hear him puttering around on the other side of the wall. Now it felt unnervingly quiet. The animal cries never died down at night, but that was all he could hear. It made him oddly jittery. His eyes flicked to the windows around the house.

Always open.

Normally it felt nice. The constant flow of fresh air was wonderful.

Except now it made him inexplicably uncomfortable. Vulnerable. Kurogane would hate it.

Syaoran swallowed, drumming his fingers on the edge of the sink. Reminded himself that he was safe here. Four days and nothing had happened. He could relax. Should relax. 

Turning his gaze away from the windows, he turned off the water before it got too high. It was probably too hot, but he washed the dishes methodically nonetheless. It burned slightly, but it was grounding. It kept his thoughts from steering somewhere dangerous.

It took him longer than he would have liked to turn the lights off. Shuffling to his bed in the dark, he felt around for his night clothes. The boy changed quickly and settled himself on the mattress, eyes wide. He was so tired, but a feeling of wrongness hummed in his blood. He pushed his back against the bookcase, the blankets wadded up around his ears.

He missed the sounds of his companion’s breathing.

He missed safety in numbers.

He missed Sakura.

Syaoran faded off to sleep to the sounds of a million unfamiliar insects.

* * *

He woke up to screaming.

Check that.

Syaoran woke himself up screaming.

There was something around him. Binding him. He thrashed, ripping it away with his free hand. His heart was beating so fast it was dizzying. His father’s bloody face was seared into his brain, the world a horrific mess of water and half wasted corpses.

A slam nearby frightened a choked gasp out of his lungs. Someone was moving, but where were Kurogane and Fai? He tried to get to his feet to defend himself but there were more things tangled around his legs and he only made it half upright by the time someone burst into the room.

The sudden lights sent him reeling.

His jumbled brain took its sweet time remembering where he was and that it was Wrennen and Briina’s terrified faces he was staring at.

That’s right. Kurogane and Fai and Mokona were gone.

A strangled sob pushed its way out of his chest and Syaoran rolled backwards, kicking his legs free of the twisted blankets. His father’s voice, his screams, echoed in his ears maddeningly. Hot tears poured down his face, having started long before he awoke.

“Syaoran?” Briina’s voice was so small, so cautious.

The boy couldn’t bring himself to look up at them, trying to wrestle everything back under control. He was usually so good at compartmentalizing. He could be upset later. Calm down and do whatever it was he needed to do and then melt down in private.

It wasn’t working. Why wasn’t it working?

His chest was constricting. He couldn’t breathe. He was gasping and heaving, and he didn’t understand this. Why couldn’t he calm down? He’d had nightmares before. They’d been so busy since Nirai Kanai that he hadn’t been sleeping much up till now. Was this his reward for finally resting?

What deity had he pissed off by existing?

Syaoran pressed his head into his hands. Why was it all of a sudden too much? All he had wanted was to see Syaoran again. He hadn’t wanted to fight anymore. Why did everything always have to end in violence?

The Utaki’s commanding tone wouldn’t get out of his head.

_‘When his existence has been erased…’_

Blood and water flickered in front of his eyes. Lightning.

If he kept hyperventilating he was going to throw up.

“Syaoran…” Wrennen had taken a seat on the floor, no closer than before. Briina was gone.

That wasn’t even really his name. He was Tsubasa. Syaoran was a borrowed name. His father’s. But still his. But not.

What was he supposed to do?

Syaoran sobbed, his grief spilling out in horrible, keening cries. He was shaking, he couldn’t stop, his fingers twisting into his hair. He needed to be grounded or he was going to shake himself apart.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Wrennen slowly scoot closer. When he didn’t flinch back or lash out, the man moved even closer. Syaoran watched him, too far gone to be sorry about waking them. His world was falling apart. It had fallen apart so long ago, and he’d marched his way through the ashes because he’d had to. It had been life or death. And now everyone was happy except for him. He’d saved lives by destroying his own, but in the end not everyone could be saved. The time witch had long ago told him that making the choice to stay in Clow meant he would never see his parents again. He had been young. He couldn’t have imagined it would end like this. Hurt so much.

How was it now that all of this was hitting him?

Strong hands gently took his fingers out of his hair as he cried. Ever so slowly Wrennen leaned him so that he rested against the man’s chest instead of the wall. Syaoran’s hands grasped at his nightshirt, hanging on like his life depended on it.

The two of them didn’t move until his tears stopped, the first streaks of sunrise coloring the horizon.

* * *

Syaoran shuffled around the apartment in a daze. Wrennen wasn’t following him exactly, but the man was keeping him in his sights at all times.

They hadn’t spoken at all. None of them had. There was not much of a point. There was no way for Syaoran to explain anything he’d gone though, and honestly, he didn’t want to. He felt hollowed out, his heart sore and his head fuzzy. His eyes were dry and puffy. He moved around listlessly, never really comfortable. A good chunk of his time was spent feeding last night’s dinner scraps to the lizards that came up to the kitchen window.

Briina had been outside most of the morning, not letting anyone out onto the balcony. Wrennen seemed to understand. Syaoran didn’t ask.

It was some time after lunch, Syaoran could only stomach a few bites no matter how good the food was, that he noticed something was missing.

Suddenly a little more alert, he hurried over to where the ward usually hung by the door.

It wasn’t on its hook.

“Wrennen…?” He asked nervously. Now that he noticed, he could tell there was a lack of protective magic pushing through the house. There was, however, some stronger than normal magic being tugged around outside.

The tired man came to his side and placed his hand on Syaoran’s shoulder. Gave him a smile that only reassured him slightly.

“Briina wrommen wa meonah le ha,” He said softly, gesturing to the front door. Then he gave the boy a slight nudge in that direction and nodded to continue.

Syaoran wasn’t sure why he was allowed outside now when they’d been specifically keeping him in the house all morning. He was too drained to bother asking. He cautiously crept the door open, hoping he wasn’t disturbing Briina. The sight that awaited him wasn’t what he would have expected.

The balcony was littered with tiny pots of incense, wisps of mildly fragrant smoke wavering off into the breeze. Candles were scattered in patterns in an inner circle. In the center was Briina, hunched over what Syaoran recognized as the ward. She had a paintbrush in her hand and was slowly painting over each symbol with a clear liquid. It wasn’t water. Syaoran could tell that it had been cleansed or blessed or was in some way sacred. It was held in a small bowl, the lightest purple designs lining the inside.

Briina looked up and Syaoran felt caught.

Then she smiled at him. It was a small, weary smile, but it put him at ease. She held her finger to her lips and beckoned him to join her. He stepped out onto the balcony, the sun-warmed wood smooth under his bare feet. He curiously made his way over to where she sat, taking great care not to disturb anything.

Everything was quiet. Even the birds singing felt far away.

Briina pushed herself back slightly and made room for him in front of the ward paper. She patted the spot and Syaoran hesitated.

She patiently patted again.

Syaoran slunk down into the spot. The pregnant woman reached around him and held out the brush for him to take. The boy picked it up respectfully. Briina shifted behind him so that she could guide his hand in hers.

Together they painted the ward three times over, Syaoran’s mind clearing with each stroke.

Briina let go of his hand then, the bowl nearly empty. She took the brush from him and set it aside in a box. He didn’t dare move, lest he mess up some ending ritual. Briina stood and carefully picked the scroll up by its woven hanger. The moment it left the wood, the candles blew themselves out. Syaoran watched, wide eyed and still, as she knelt down in front of him.

The woman dipped her finger in the last of the bowl’s contents, just a drop. She brought her hand up and gently touched it to his forehead.

It wasn’t enough to burn, but the liquid was unexpectedly hot.

Even more unexpected was the strange shift that happened inside him. Like some part of him had slipped out of place somewhere along the way and it had now fallen back where it was meant to be. His body still felt generally awful from the long night of crying, but his heart felt a little less…rattled.

Briina pressed a kiss on the top of his head before getting up and heading inside, leaving Syaoran with his thoughts.


	6. Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Murmurations are beautiful and you should look them up despite your computer probably claiming it isn't a word. Its wrong.

Before Syaoran knew it, the three of them had fallen into a loosely rotating schedule. 

Wrennen worked a continuous cycle of two days on and one day off. On his free days Syaoran would accompany him in whatever chores needed to be done, whether it be tidying the house, shopping for baby supplies, or helping the elderly neighbors on the first floor. Syaoran did whatever was asked of him without complaint. These people were housing and feeding him with no idea of when that might stop. 

On the sixth day of Syaoran’s stay, Wrennen had him help scrub down and repaint the balcony. 

_Easier with two people._ The man conveyed with the rough sign language they had been using. _Too many vines. Need you hold them and paint under. No good to get paint on plants. Hurry before rain._

It had taken hours, the two of them sweaty and paint smeared when they were done. Wrennen pushed Syaoran towards the bathroom to clean up, and after a quick lunch he drove them down into the town. Syaoran had not been all the way back into the center near the park since he arrived, and it was amazing to see the area in the daylight. All the new sights had been dazzling, but nothing was as breathtaking as where Wrennen took him for the afternoon.

It was a museum. 

Syaoran was pretty sure there were stars in his eyes the whole time, despite the fact that he couldn’t read a single display plaque. The building was only two stories tall, but it sprawled out over a serious amount of land. It wound around like a maze, wide hallways opening up into high ceilings periodically, with the balconies on the second floor visible. Wrennen let an ecstatic Syaoran drag him around until dinnertime, doing his best to explain the simpler things to the boy when he could. 

Syaoran was so bursting with everything he had seen that when Briina came home from work he told her all about it. He didn’t even bother with gesturing, he just word vomited every detail he could remember. Briina and Wrennen didn’t understand anything he said but were happily taken aback at how vocal he was being. They had a hard time communicating as it was, and he admitted he’d been a bit withdrawn since his breakdown. 

He hadn’t had any other nightmares though, and he wondered if it had to do with the slightly more potent magic wafting around the apartment. Or maybe it was because by helping with the ward itself, he was more connected to its powers of protection? It drove him slightly nuts at now complicated it would be to ask about it.

Briina’s work schedule was four days on and two days off. On days where she and Wrennen both worked, Syaoran was allowed to tag along with her.

There was a little café a few minutes outside of downtown that they’d head to right before lunchtime. By the time they arrived the place would be wafting with smells that made Syaoran’s stomach grumble, but Briina would lead him into the kitchen and hand him over to the cook. Then she’d shoot him a wink and head out front. 

The cook was a stooped, older woman with wild grey hair whose name sounded something like Shishi. The woman had no problem whatsoever in letting Syaoran know what to do without talking. It helped that the entire kitchen was equipped with open shelves instead of cabinets. Shishi would just point with a spoon, or ladle, or whatever she was holding, at a shelf. She’d either point to herself, or out to the front, and Syaoran would take the item to that place. He washed dishes, he swept the floors, and when the dishes were dried and put away on the shelves Shishi could not reach, she would shoo him out to Briina again.

It baffled the boy that after all the worlds they had seen, there were always new concepts that surprised him.

Briina worked in a children’s café.

The tables were all different heights, so that even the smallest of children could sit comfortably. They streamed in all around the same time each day, loud, high pitched chattering clusters of them. The café workers hurried to get everyone’s orders and food served quickly.

There was no money exchanged. 

Instead, Syaoran watched with great interest as each child pulled out a little card. Briina came around with a stamp and marked them all, the kids enthusiastically calling their thanks as they ran back out the door. There was a rush to get everything cleaned again, Briina and Syaoran washing down all the little tables before a second, smaller wave arrived later in the afternoon.

Syaoran’s curiosity couldn’t be ignored.

 _Children no have money here._ Briina shook her head. _No one can take from them. No can lose. Safe. Go to school. Come here for lunch. Family pay card before. We get money. We feed kids._

Apparently, there were many children’s café’s clustered around the local schools, and the children got to pick which ones they at ate each day during their free time. Syaoran loved the idea and wished that before he left this world, he’d get to see some of the other cafes.

* * *

It was especially wet on the ninth day of Syaoran’s stay. He and Wrennen stayed cooped up in the house all morning, reading. Laying around aimlessly for long periods still made Syaoran antsy, but he tried to take deep breaths and enjoy the down time. 

Wrennen was sprawled beside him on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table and reading glasses starting to slide down his nose. 

The “rain frogs”, as Syaoran had dubbed them in his head, were loving the particularly long rainfall. They peeped and chirped and squawked through the thunder of the raindrops.  
The muffled sounds of footsteps upstairs were accompanied by equally muffled voices.

Wrennen shifted a little, turning the page of his novel.

Syaoran curled further into the cushions, unable to stay focused on the images in the book he’d picked out. 

A frog peeped from the kitchen. They had a habit of lounging in the sink when Briina wasn’t home.

Syaoran peeked at his host. He really didn’t want to interrupt, but the question was nagging in the back of his mind again. If he let it fester, he would only get more restless. The answer was the same every day, and he was sure they would tell him as soon as there was news, however…

“Wrennen?” He asked softly.

The older man hummed lightly, marking his spot in his book with his thumb before looking up.

“Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona?” The boy questioned.

Wrennen’s face creased in sympathy. 

Syaoran’s heart sunk, even though he hadn’t gotten his hopes up.

Sitting up straighter, Wrennen reached out and patted his knee. His hand was large and warm, comforting. Neither of his hosts were anywhere as tall as Fai or Kurogane, but there was something about these two that made him more aware than ever how much smaller he was.

“Na huema, Syaoran. Jahoa,” Wrennen smiled sadly at the boy. Syaoran knew it was an apology.

Loud, quick footsteps up the stairs stopped him from thinking about his missing family too long. Wrennen craned his neck around, giving the front window a funny look.

A moment later, Briina flew past out on the balcony. The door beeped, unlocking, and the woman burst into the apartment with more energy than could ever have been necessary. Her arms were laden with bags and she hunched over them, trying to block the pounding rain with her large poncho.

“Wrennen! Syaoran! Lommya brea shohwna! Hilah ma!” She slid the bags across the kitchen tile, shucking her dripping coat and boots and hastily tossing them on the rack.  
A couple small frogs snuck their way back out the window over the sink.

“Ah? Hilah fanle?” Wrennen broke into a bright grin full of enthusiasm, getting off the couch and joining his wife in the kitchen.

Syaoran watched them over the low wall dividing the kitchen and living room. His chest hurt slightly at the fact that another day had passed without a call from the town hall about his companions. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but be curious about whatever had made his hosts so excited. Wrennen was digging through the bags eagerly, pulling out odd, shiny fabric and string. Another bag held a bundle of perfectly straight, thin wooden sticks.

“Syaoran,” Briina beckoned him over with a small wave.

Unsure of what was going on, he joined Briina in the kitchen. She draped her arm around his shoulders and giggled lightly at the mess her husband was making.

Syaoran wished there was a more elegant way of asking what all this was.

He pointed to the bags and looked questioningly up at Briina.

She opened her mouth and then paused, her face screwing up in thought.

“Ah…haja!” The woman clapped.

Briina rifled through her pockets and pulled out a slip of paper and a pencil. She drew a circle on it, then at four points on the circle, added a snowflake, a flower, a sun, and a tree empty of leaves.

The seasons in this world.

Syaoran nodded, showing he understood so far.

Briina pointed outside and then tapped the flower. 

_Spring._

She held up two fingers and waved her hand ahead like they had been doing to show ‘tomorrow’. Then Briina wiggled around in a tiny show of dance. She stilled and pressed her hands together, bowing her head as if in prayer. Then she smiled and spread her hands wide over her head, making a happy sound.

_Spring. Two days from now. A dance? A celebration or prayer festival?_

That sounded interesting. Syaoran felt the stirrings of excitement in his stomach.

Wrennen drew his attention and tugged the boy down beside him when Syaoran walked over. He knelt on the cool floor and watched Wrennen sort out the materials. It looked like they could use this stuff to make…

Wrennen spread a hand over the piles, and then slowly weaved it around high over his head, whistling out a low whooshing sound.

Syaoran nodded his head fervently.

“Kites!”

Briina joined them on the floor with a light thump, combing her fingers through her damp hair.

“Ghightes?” She mimicked.

Syaoran bobbled his head a little, it was close enough. He pointed to himself and repeated the word, then pointed to the couple and made an inquiring sound.

“Hilahes,” Briina supplied, looking embarrassed and relieved that he didn’t ask them to try again. She always got flustered when she couldn’t pronounce his words. Syaoran had a much easier time learning their language, though sometimes their words were so short and soft that he missed them entirely.

The three of them worked away at making their own kites. Briina and Wrennen had a challenging time teaching him how to sew the thread along the edges of the kite so that it held the edge wood in place, but they were patient. He learned how to secure the crossbars, how to seal the edges after sewing with a sticky clear paste, and how to quickly add embellishments like ribbons and sequins. 

Syaoran slowly chugged along, reveling the clear-headedness that came with a mundane task such as sewing. He had to focus on his hands but enjoyed listening to Briina and Wrennen chatter back and forth and laugh at their own jokes. The two had a tendency to try to include him in whatever they were talking about. He appreciated it, but it was nice go see them just acting like they would if he were not there. 

“Ahhh… flammwe! Hajalo mea ne,” Wrennen yawned.

Briina hummed in agreement, stretching her back and getting to her feet.

Syaoran looked up, he hadn’t even noticed how dark it was outside. They must have been at it for hours. It had to be a good while past dinnertime. His back and bottom were sore from being hunched over on the tile for so long, and his hands hurt, but he didn’t mind. It was fun to have a project to work on like this. He was not even close to as far along as his hosts were, but he was content with his progress. The boy had never had the time to make a craft before, after all.

He was about to tell them that he was going to keep working when his stomach let out a horrifyingly loud growl.

Syaoran flushed a scandalized red, Briina’s face puckering in an attempt to not laugh at him. Wrennen patted Syaoran on the back and simply opened the fridge in response. He rooted around and pulled out some of the wrapped-up leftovers from last night’s dinner. 

“Sorry, sorry, that was so rude-“ Syaoran was cut off by Briina tugging on his arm to stand up. She giggled at him as she guided him to the couch. They always found his embarrassment funnier than whatever had caused it.

“Oshun wa, Syaoran. Oshun wa.”

He knew that one by now. 

_You’re okay._

Wrennen flopped down beside him, handing Syaoran a bowl of cold meat. Briina snatched some fruit and they picked at their food while watching a television program on an oddly patterned weasel-like species.

Syaoran was nodding off before he knew it.

* * *

Syaoran spent the next day at the house. Both Briina and Wrennen had to work, and Briina was a little surprised when he politely declined joining her. He felt the small weight of guilt at not helping her with her job, but he… really wanted to finish his kite. Syaoran got the feeling that she took him to the café just to stop him from sitting around all day, and not because they actually needed the assistance. 

If she did need him, surely Briina would say something.

She didn’t. She just put on her poncho and boots, the steady downpour from the day before continuing on. Before she left, she cupped the back of his head in her hand and pressed her cheek to his hair. Something in between a hug and a kiss. Syaoran had seen other doing it to children frequently here. 

He blushed and sent Briina a shy smile as she went out into the deluge.

Syaoran padded over to where his supplies were piled, waving away yet another frog that had decided to venture inside.

Physical contact was so casual in this world, he wondered as he cut some longer strips of cloth. People were always patting each other on the back and hugging and holding hands even in public. 

It was… nice? 

Syaoran thought about touch a lot. After all, he had to be conscious of potentially touching Sakura while she was undergoing her purifying ritual. And then afterwards he had wanted to never let her go. His heart ached every time he had to let go of her hand. A reminder of his failure. Touya had hated how much he hugged her, but Sakura had never complained. Neither had the King or Queen.

The boy hummed at his project. His sewing was mediocre at best, but he wasn’t pricking his fingers as much today, so that was progress.

Then seven years in that cursed place. Waiting. Nothing had touched him for seven years, and even when he did break out, most physical contact from then on had been violent. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Getting hurt and hurting others.

And then. 

Kurogane ruffled his hair. Fai held his face in his hands. Draped an arm around his shoulders. He hugged Sakura again. Syaoran had been so busy that he didn’t realize how much he missed it. How much he treasured the soft feeling of skin on skin. That was allowed here.

This world was being especially kind to him in that regard.

The boy held up his kite, eyeing it critically. He needed sequins to really be satisfied but attaching them individually looked frustrating. He set his jaw and started on them anyway. Thank goodness he wasn’t covering too large of an area. 

By the time he was finished with them, the rain had started to taper off and he could tell that the sun was heading towards the tree line. All he needed to do now was secure the string and wrap a decent amount around the spool. Briina had demonstrated to do it on her own kite this morning when she finished it. It was a stunning striped fish, long ribbons attached to its tail to catch the wind. Syaoran did not recognize the animal Wrennen had made, though if he had to guess, he would say it was some kind of bird. It wasn’t that it was done poorly, it was just that Syaoran had never seen a creature with wings so large and a body so small.

Wrennen came home as he was wrapping the last of his string a little while later. Both happy at the quality of his work, and happy to be done (his fingers were cramping), Syaoran hopped up from his spot on the floor and held up his kite for the man to see.

Wrennen let out an exclamation that was their language’s version of “wow” and came forward to look more closely.

Syaoran glowed with pride.

“Lele, Syaoran! Lele, ne wa Mogona!”

* * *

The morning of the festival came in a burst of sunlight and dry air. Syaoran sat with his hosts and a bowl of hot, spiced fruits out on the balcony. The whole neighborhood was bustling around them, but their little bubble of tranquility would not be disturbed. 

The sun streamed through the trees and raised plumes of fog from every surface. Birds of all kinds came out from nooks and crannies to shake off the dew and fluff their feathers. Syaoran watched Wrennen out of the corner of his eye. The man was not so subtly spooning a slice of fruit onto the railing near a group of little lizards sunning themselves. One crept closer, then lurched in to grab the slice in his mouth and ran off, the others chasing behind. 

Briina heaved a sigh, looking down and patting her stomach. She mumbled under her breath and Syaoran had to stifle a giggle by shoving more food in his mouth. Briina was talking to the baby behind Wrennen’s back and the look on her husband’s face was priceless.

* * *

The car climbed higher and Syaoran was barely containing his excitement. They were heading further and further from the center of the crater, and the boy had never been out this way before. The view was incredible. In just a little more than a week since he’d arrived, the trees were thickening with green and yellow leaves, the occasional flower popping up in unexpected places. 

“Syaoran, plarea manwa,” Briina brought his attention back to the front with a wave. 

The hill appeared to end not too far ahead of them, and the cars in front of them looked almost like they were blipping out of existence when they reached the top.

Their car strained at the angle, but Syaoran laughed when they popped over the top as well. Of course, the cars weren’t disappearing, the hill plateaued out and now that they were above the crater wall, one could see for miles. All around them were rolling hills and forests, mountains dotting the horizon to the north. 

The festival grounds were not far, the bright tents and crowds visible up on one of the nearby hilltops devoid of trees. They were directed to a roped off parking area and Syaoran sat in the back seat, all of them waiting for the cars around them to pull in before opening the doors. The boy handed Briina and Wrennen their kites before getting out himself. The back seat had been a bit cramped with the three kites taking up so much of the space.

He clutched his own kite tightly in one hand as Briina held his other and guided his through the throngs of people milling about. Wrennen followed with a blanket and basket of food, Briina holding both his and her own kites under her arm.

With Briina pulling him along, Syaoran was able to look around freely without any chance of knocking into other festival goers.

There were tents scattered at the bottom of the hill full of vendors. They were selling everything from food, to clothing, to kite supplies, and even tiny premade kites for children too small to make their own. The food smells wafted through the air, baked goods, sizzling meat, and the thick scent of fried dough. Syaoran was almost sad that they had brought food of their own, though he knew that what they had cooked this morning was delicious. 

The sounds of children running about and playing rang out over the music projected from small speakers on the corner poles of most of the tents. Syaoran could not know for sure, as instruments varied greatly among the worlds they had seen, but it wove a rich melody of what sounded like violins and flutes. Sweet and flowing, but with an undercurrent of strength and joy. Sakura would have loved it. She would have made him dance.

Syaoran was so distracted by the thought that he walked right into Briina when she stopped. He hastily stepped back and opened his mouth to apologize, but the look Briina gave him was enough to make him change his mind. He sheepishly smiled at her instead and she dropped his hand, ruffling his hair and grinning hugely back.

The three of them set up their blanket on a flatter spot of ground that hadn’t yet been claimed by the hundreds of other people. Syaoran set down his kite beside it, then frowned.  
There wasn’t enough wind.

There was a light breeze, but the children around them had to run laps to keep their kites airborne. As soon as they stopped their creations glided to the grass, some of the bigger ones nosediving and sending kids fleeing and shrieking. 

“Briina? Wrennen?” He asked, his hosts looking up from where they were plating up some snacks.

He pointed to the kites, then the sky and shook his head. Waved his hand through the air and whistled a wind noise, dropping it and looking concerned.

They didn’t appear worried, but had the faces of people who were thinking hard. Wrennen shook his head, pointing to the sun and making the sad whistle noise. Then he moved his hand from where he was pointing at the sun down to a spot closer to the horizon, he nodded and made a strong whooshing sound.

_No wind now. Yes wind later._

“Wa,” Syaoran replied in their language. 

_Okay._

They spent the afternoon touring around the festival and enjoying the sunshine after so many days of rain. Syaoran paid special attention to what other people’s kites looked like, wondering if there was some rule or pattern. For the most part it seemed the majority were animals and the few here and there that were more simple shapes, layered diamonds, or spirals. 

He was interested in the fact that a large percentage of the animal kites looked like different versions of Wrennen’s. Maybe the giant winged bird was something meaningful? It could just be a local favorite, but Syaoran could not recall seeing such a bird since he arrived.

The first gust of wind took the boy completely by surprise. It rushed through the crowds, people laughing and grabbing for their kites before they blew away. Syaoran managed to throw himself on top of his own as it was swept off the grass, slapping a hand over the other two as well. 

“Braho la, Syaoran!” Wrennen slapped him on the back, laughing. 

Briina gave him two thumbs up and thanked him. She swiped a hand out a second later as a second strong gust sent a kite shooting past her head. The owner graciously took it back, all smiles despite almost losing his kite. There were stray kites fluttering down the hill, their makers laughing and chasing after them. 

Maybe this was part of the festival? Maybe some people expected the first winds to yank their kites away?

The third and fourth gusts were stronger, and Syaoran held his kite to his chest to avoid it from being ripped from him. He was a little bewildered, and the wind pushed so powerfully for a moment that it nearly unseated him. Wrennen steadied the boy and wrapped his free arm around him.

The gale evened out a moment later, slowing to a more comfortable pace. 

Up went the kites. Hundreds of them, bright and colorful against the pale blue sky. Wrennen helped Syaoran get his airborne, the stark white of his kite standing out among the rainbow around it.

Mokona looked awfully happy flying around like this.

Happiness swirled in Syaoran’s chest. His reason for making a Mokona kite was twofold. One, Mokona’s shape was easy and the design was simple enough for a beginner. Two, nearly everyone in the city was here, and if by chance any of his companions had come, they could see Mokona and find him as well.

Mokona’s forehead jewel and earring sequins glittered a bold red and Syaoran was glad he put in the extra effort. It was worth it. Briina’s fish and Wrennen’s bird swooped on either side of Mokona and Syaoran blew out a long breath. The pure joy and celebration in the air was infectious, and though he wished his little family were here to experience it too, the thought didn’t drag him down.

The kites flew until the first orange streaks of sunset slipped across the sky. 

Then the whispers began, everyone hushing in a wave across the hill. The music played on, suddenly sounding loud in the wake of quiet voices. Syaoran’s eyes widened, looking around in confusion. Briina only smiled and him and pulled him back to his feet, the kites tied off to their basket. Wrennen put a finger to his lips, eyes alight with anticipation.

What…?

Briina bent down slightly to be at his level and pointed silently out towards where the dark was creeping up from the mountains, the setting sun behind the crowds. 

The first of the stars appeared, and for a brief second Syaoran thought that whole clusters of them suddenly lit all at the same time. But then no, they weren’t stars. It was a cloud of white dots, flying towards the crowd at in unbelievable speed. The longer he watched the more he came to understand that it was actually a massive flock of birds. The largest one he’d ever seen.

The kite birds.

Thousands of them. 

They flew like waves upon the wind, changing directions almost as one. Syaoran had never seen anything like it. It was beautiful. They flew towards their hill and then-

Over and around the kite festival. The air was suddenly so thick with gliding birds that Syaoran couldn’t see the end of them. His heart pounded in his chest and Briina squeezed his hand, wordlessly happy. Their wings buffeted the air around his face, but not a feather touched him. They gracefully dodged through the sea of kites and strings, and then swooped high over the hill. With one flawless twist, the murmuration dove into the crater.

Syaoran froze. As the birds made their way down towards the city they vanished. Except not entirely. He could still barely see their faded outlines, and a tingle of energy swept through him.

Spirits.

Had he just witnessed a spirit migration? Was that a thing here? He felt a quiet sort of shock as the festival goers cheered and toasted around him, drinks coming out of seemingly nowhere. 

“Syaoran? Oshun wa?” Briina peered down at him in concern. He did feel a little overwhelmed. 

He nodded slowly, not taking his wide eyes off where the birds had shed their physical forms. It felt like if he broke his own silence something would be ruined.  
Everyone eventually sat down across the hill, celebrating in the last of the day’s light.

Syaoran stood alone, his heart very full and feeling very lucky.


	7. Magic

Syaoran smiled nervously, trying to keep the new names straight in his head. It was hard with so much attention on him. He scrunched his toes into the carpet, pulling in a deep breath and nodding politely at each introduction.

Wrennen’s sisters had come to visit. Briina and Wrennen had given him a few days warning but standing in the now rather crowded apartment was a lot different than picturing meeting some new people. Briina had taken the time to draw out a little family tree for Syaoran, so the boy knew that these were only two of Wrennen’s sisters, the older ones. He had another younger sister who would not be coming today.

Lirenna, the oldest, was almost as tall as Wrennen. The woman’s hair was long and wavy, her eyes a rich hazel. She seemed completely at ease, but Syaoran could tell she was keeping an eye on him.

Ashal was closer to Briina’s height, crow’s feet crinkling in the corners of her eyes. She wore her hair braided upon her head like a crown, and while it gave her a bit of a regal air, Syaoran had the feeling it was more to keep her hair away from grabby hands.

Grabby hands that were suddenly tugging at his hands and his clothes while tiny mouths cried their eager greetings.

“Syaoran! Meanwah rei brulee!” 

“Pruvishah lea menaa, wan lele lele!”

“Sho-wan Sho-wan Sho-waaaan-“

“Lele wana neomre uwahlo?”

Wrennen’s nieces and nephews were here as well. At least some of them.

Syaoran nearly staggered with their pulling, looking to Briina for help. She shot him a sympathetic but ultimately unhelpful look. Both Wrennen’s sisters were watching him, a stranger, to see if it was okay to let their children around him. This world was generally safe, but safety had not made its residents stupid.

“Ah, um… Hanma yaowen,” He managed to get out over the children’s chattering. The polite way to say hello to a group, Wrennen had taught him earlier in the week.

The children paused, five pairs of dark eyes wide and full of wonder. Then the little ones suddenly cheered, hopping around and accidentally stepping on his feet.  
The oldest, Siaal, made a face and turned back to her mother with an accusatory stare.

“Lea mo praream seo renna?”

Lirenna was unimpressed with her daughter’s attitude, and her response sounded like a warning. Syaoran made a mental note not to give the woman a reason to look at him that way. Siaal, on the other hand, took the comment in stride and simply said okay, all traces of irritation gone.

After that, approval appeared to be given and the adults all retired out to the balcony. Which left Syaoran as a very overwhelmed babysitter.

* * *

It was pretty cramped under the kitchen table. Syaoran was curled with his knees tucked under his chin, mirroring his hiding buddy, Nenlai. The little boy insisted that this was the best hiding spot in the house. 

Syaoran couldn’t exactly argue, let alone with a three-year-old. Nenlai could not seem to understand the concept that Syaoran did not speak the same language as the rest of them and did not have a clue what all his hissy whispers meant. He leaned back into the leg of the table, listening to the muffled talking that wafted in through the open windows. The sun was shining on his back and it was starting to get too warm to be comfortable, but Nenlai sent him a grumpy pout any time he moved more than an inch.

It was getting warmer and raining less. 

Syaoran had been here over three weeks. 

Around the corner, they could hear Siaal finish her rhyme. Nenlai tried to smother his giggles in Syaoran’s side. He didn’t do a very good job.

* * *

Shian and Vree were under the impression that Syaoran was some sort of sentient tree. That was the only explanation he had for why the girls insisted on _climbing _him every five minutes. Their nearly identical faces shined with glee as he attempted to pry them off as carefully as possible.__

The little gremlins were strong for being so small. 

Vree cackled a laugh of complete and total victory when Syaoran stopped wrestling with them and just laid down on the floor. Her weight on his back pressed his face into the carpet and he heaved a sigh at how disappointed Kurogane would be if he could see him now. Bested by five-year-olds. 

No, wait. He would love to see Kurogane try to do better.

The weight on his legs shifted and Syaoran watched with one eye as Shian crawled up to his head. She laid down face to face with him, her freckled face pinched in worry.

“Oshun wa?” Shian asked after a moment, the words muffled by the fact that she was also chewing on a piece of her hair.

Syaoran laughed softly at her sudden bout of shyness.

“Shun wa.”

* * *

Bless his little heart, Miloa thought he was some sort of idiot. Whenever one of the other kids wasn’t immediately vying for his attention, Miloa made it his duty to make sure Syaoran was educated. It was kind of sweet, in a little-kid being patronizing sort of way.

“Ho-am-eea,” Miloa dragged out each syllable with the same determination he dragged Syaoran around the apartment with.

“Hoamia,” The flustered teen mumbled.

Syaoran enjoyed learning new words when it was just him and his hosts… But with a six-year-old shaking his head and correcting him, and other kids tittering behind him when he got things wrong?

It was hard to fight back the embarrassed flush creeping up his face.

Syaoran was greatly relieved when Miloa pushed him toward the couch and made a highly overdramatic “STAY” gesture at him. The boy ran off for a moment and came back with a book that was very clearly for a child of Nenlai’s age.

The other children clustered around him, listening with delight as Miloa read the book many times over.

Siaal, deciding she was too old for this baby nonsense, went outside to hang with the adults for a while.

Syaoran wished she would take him with her.

* * *

Syaoran kept his attention on Miloa and his book as Vree was scolded for the third time in five minutes. 

Then it was Nenlai whining.

Even Siaal said something snappy soon after, and Lirenna was having none of it.

It was almost dark, and the kids were hungry and cranky. 

Syaoran was doing his best to keep them occupied, but after playing with him all day they had suddenly lost all interest. While the three woman and Wrennen made dinner, the kids milled around the kitchen and made a general nuisance of themselves. Syaoran’s eyebrows shot up when Briina turned around and said something sharp to Shian, who’d been tugging incessantly at the back of her shirt. 

Briina, who was endlessly patient with him. Who had opened her home to him. Who defended him against irritable strangers and let him borrow her precious nature guide. Briina, who he had never seen be anything less than kind and compassionate with everyone she met.

Briina was stressed.

This would not do.

Syaoran caught Shian’s now watery eyes and beckoned her over. The little girl stumbled over to where he sat on the couch and flopped against his leg, wiping hastily at her tears. Vree followed her sister and patted her back heavily.

Adopting a sneaky countenance, Syaoran exaggerated peering around to make sure no one else was looking. Immediately Vree and Shian perked up, and Miloa stopped reading aloud to himself. Syaoran leaned in towards the kids like he was going to tell a juicy secret and they copied, faces eager.

Making sure that his words were hardly louder than a breath, he lifted his hand.

“Fuuka.”

A tiny wind whipped over his fingers, only enough to ruffle his audience’s hair. He bit back a smile at their confused faces. Vree opened her mouth, but Syaoran held a finger to his lips and she obeyed, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity. Miloa covered his mouth with both hands to stop himself from making a sound.

“Kashin.”

He didn’t let the flame linger for more than a few moments, lest one of the children give in to an urge to see if it was real. Shian let out a muffled squeal of delight, catching Siaal’s attention in the relative quiet. The eight-year-old squinted but couldn’t see what was happening from where she sat. Abandoning her façade of passiveness, she padded over to peer over her cousin’s heads.

When Syaoran cast a spark, the kids let out a nearly inaudible “lele…” and their eyes begged him for more. Their awe was palpable. 

Syaoran cast another gust of air, wondering if he ever had been amazed by magic. He’d grown up with it all around him. His mother and father had been teaching him magic since before he could even remember, but it was a nice thought to imagine his father entertaining him like this. He searched back in the depths of his earliest memories, a territory he usually avoided.

It took a little while, but something fluttered to the surface when he dug deep.

There was… It was soft. Silks? And… perfume? He… there was a, what was that? He really wanted to touch it, but an elegant hand kept pulling his little one back.

He wanted to see…

Syaoran’s eyes widened with the realization and the spark he’d been casting disappeared with a snap. The children made sounds of disappointment, but Syaoran barely heard their mumblings.

His grandmother’s fan. 

The memory his mind dredged up wasn’t even of his parents. He didn’t know how to feel about that. As upsetting as that was, he’d loved spending time with his grandmother and cherished any memory of her he could keep. 

He missed her.

Would she even know he existed? She was an incredibly powerful sorceress… but with time being re-written…

Cheering jolted him out of his reverie. He whipped his head around and saw the children run off to where the balcony had been laden with dishes and food. It looked like everyone was outside, leaving the apartment feeling strangely hollow. Or maybe that was just his chest.

Syaoran blinked and swallowed thickly, twisting his hands into the hem of his shirt.

“Syaoran?”

Briina was behind him. How long had she been there? 

There was a sharpness to her that he’d not seen before. She eyed him with subdued surprise and wariness, but there was a hint of a brittle smile on her lips. Briina was trying to hide her reaction from him. It was such a Fai thing to do that he suddenly had an even more difficult time composing himself.

Syaoran opened his mouth but nothing came out. He bit his lip, unwilling to look away, refusing to give Briina any sign that what he had been doing was something she would not approve of. She didn’t look fearful or angry, and that eased the tension in his shoulders slightly.

Their moment was broken by one of the children calling in for Auntie Briina. The woman startled slightly and called back, her tone distracted. Syaoran did not move. This was her house. Her rules. He would let her make any judgements and would take them without complaint.

Then she stepped forwards and held out her hand in invitation, nodding her head towards the door. The smile on her face turned genuine. Syaoran took her hand and let her help him up, still a little anxious. It must have shown because she squeezed his hand and let out a sigh tinged with exasperation.

“Oshun wa, Syaoran.”

The boy wondered how many times he would be told that before he believed it.

* * *

Syaoran reveled in the quiet that night. There had been no rain, so there were hardly any frog songs for once. Insects keened ceaselessly, the rhythmic sounds drifting through the warm air. Syaoran lay on his bed, blankets around his shoulders regardless of the temperature. 

“The kids probably won’t tell, right? I did make it feel like a secret… Even if they did say something its possible Ashal and Lirenna wouldn’t believe them,” He smoothed a finger through the spirit cat’s fur. “And Nenlai didn’t see, so…”

The creature let out a low purr, nudging at his hand when he paused his petting. The little one laid on its back and pawed at his side through the blankets. Syaoran took great comfort in talking to these spirits. They often visited him as he was falling asleep or early in the morning, the press of their paws sometimes the only tell that they were around.

“Are the others here and just far away, or have they not even arrived yet?” He whispered the question knowing the cat could not provide him with an answer. His heart ached for his strange little family. Though his days here were enjoyable, Briina and Wrennen couldn’t quite fill the void of Fai and Kurogane. Why couldn’t he have both these facets of his family at one time? His parents’ faces flashed behind his closed lids and he opened his eyes in alarm. He hadn’t forgotten about them. As if he could. He still wanted them back as well, it was just… Kurogane and Fai were the more immediate option. He wasn’t replacing them. He couldn’t.

The spirit seemed to feel his unease. It shuffled forward, nosing its way under his chin. Its purrs rumbled against his neck and chest, loosening the tightness that had been creeping in. His breathing settled again, and he blinked slowly up at the dark ceiling. Without thinking, he wrapped his free arm around the smaller spirit feline, threading his slightly shaking fingers through its ghostlike fur.

“I’m glad you guys are here…” He mumbled softly.

He was so tired, but he wasn’t drifting off as easily these days. He no longer dropped into a dead sleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Syaoran couldn’t recall the last time he had been so well rested.

The sound of wood creaking gently interrupted his thoughts. Someone else was awake and if Syaoran had to place a bet, he would choose Wrennen every time. Once Briina was out, there was little that could wake her. 

Unable to move with the spirits pinning him in place Syaoran could only tilt his head back. It was indeed Wrennen coming out of his room and staggering sleepily towards the bathroom. He paused, a hand against the doorframe, and turned to look over to Syaoran. The boy could barely make out the man’s face in the feeble light of the bath night light, but he could see Wrennen’s dark brows raise in surprise.

“Syaoran?”

Syaoran hummed a quiet hello, his hair falling into his eyes. He scrunched up his face against the intrusion, his hands both occupied.

“Premle nyamwa shu le?” Wrennen’s quiet voice was accompanied by gestures the boy could not make sense of in the dark. He supposed he could be asking why he was awake so late.

Thoroughly exhausted with how much effort it was to communicate, Syaoran found himself speaking plainly.

“I can’t sleep.”

Wrennen wouldn’t understand. 

For the first time Syaoran didn’t care.

* * *

Water dripped towards his elbows, leaving a cold trail on his arms before splattering onto the countertop. The morning breeze brought in the smell of new flowers from the floor below.

Syaoran washed his face, the water cool and refreshing. He held his breath and brought his cupped hands up one last time before grabbing for a fluffy towel. The boy dried himself, peering at his reflection in the mirror.

With a decent, if perhaps not as long as he would like, sleep between himself and yesterday’s emotional mess he felt a lot more clearheaded. There wasn’t anything he could do about his parents right now. There wasn’t anything he could do that would get the others here faster. All he could do was wait for the time being. He was in a safe place with people who cared about him and he was grateful. He could enjoy what he had. 

The boy in the mirror stared back, a small smile and determination in his eyes.

Today would be a good day.

Syaoran pulled on his borrowed shirt and hung the towel back on the rack. He nodded to himself in the mirror once before clicking the light off and heading out.  
He wasn’t more than two steps out of the bathroom when a scream and the sound of glass breaking shattered the morning calm. 

Heart in his throat, Syaoran whipped around to the kitchen. His vision nearly blurred, and his stomach dropped through the floor at all the red… there was _so much red- ___

_Briina was covered._

Syaoran’s sword was in his hand, terror squeezing his lungs. Wide eyes cast around frantically for the threat. He hadn’t felt anything strange. Hadn’t heard any sound of an intruder…? How- 

____A noise behind him sent him whirling, his blade ready to defend._ _ _ _

____Wrennen’s stunned eyes gazed back unblinkingly and the world froze. The only thing that moved was Syaoran’s shaking._ _ _ _

____He thought he’d been safe here._ _ _ _

____Then ever so slowly, Wrennen brought up his hands in a gesture of surrender. His lips were moving, but the frightened boy couldn’t hear until he pushed past all the static in his ears._ _ _ _

____“Oshun wa, Syaoran. Oshun wa, ne. Oshun wa, oshun wa, oshun-“_ _ _ _

_You’re okay, Syaoran. You’re okay, yes. You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay-_

______Wrennen’s low voice was the only thing he could hear. There were no sounds of further attacks. Syaoran felt out as far as he could but detected no malicious magics. Unsure of exactly what was going on, he cautiously turned back to the kitchen, his sword lowering but his grip as tight as ever._ _ _ _ _ _

______Briina stood stock still in the middle of the kitchen, dark green eyes wide with shock. A large blue frog struggled to cling to her outstretched arm, oblivious of the tension in the air. Glass shards glittered all over the floor amongst the splatters of…_ _ _ _ _ _

______Sauce._ _ _ _ _ _

______It was the leftovers from last night’s big dinner. Thick globs of red sauce dripped down the cabinets and onto the floor. Soaked into Briina’s socks. Her pajama pants._ _ _ _ _ _

______Briina had dropped a jar._ _ _ _ _ _

______Syaoran’s sword fell from numb fingers, hitting the tile with a clatter. He swallowed roughly. He’d never… It had never been a false alarm before. There had always been an emergency. Vague memories of Mokona tricking the other Syaoran with misleading statements trickled into his brain like slurry. Syaoran’s relief when Sakura had just been sleeping._ _ _ _ _ _

______But he didn’t feel relief. Every cell in his body was still screaming danger, even though there clearly was none. Panic itched in his blood. He needed to… to do something to alleviate the pressure building in his ribcage._ _ _ _ _ _

______No one moved._ _ _ _ _ _

______Syaoran’s brows furrowed. If nothing was wrong, then he’d…_ _ _ _ _ _

______Oh my god, he’d just threatened Wrennen at sword point._ _ _ _ _ _

______Today was not a good day._ _ _ _ _ _

______His throat tightened, and tears prickled in the corners of his eyes even as Briina continued to stare openmouthed at him._ _ _ _ _ _

______No one in this world wielded magics like that._ _ _ _ _ _

______He had just ruined everything, hadn’t he?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Legs suddenly wobbly, he sank to a crouch, his hands coming up over his mouth and nose almost like a prayer. Tears rolled down his cheeks silently and the tile in front of him wavered. Soft words were exchanged above him, and then a hesitant hand rested on his back. It surprised him, but he stopped any outward reaction. He was afraid of doing any more magic around them. Of what was going to happen now. Of questions they might ask._ _ _ _ _ _

______He was afraid._ _ _ _ _ _

______He refused to look, but he knew it was Wrennen on his knees beside him. Syaoran breathed shallowly and kept his eyes trained on the floor. The hand rubbed his back as he let the adrenaline run its course._ _ _ _ _ _

______A red stained foot entered his line of sight and he flinched back, the sight disturbing even with the knowledge that it was not blood._ _ _ _ _ _

______Wrennen’s arms wrapped firmly around his shoulders and a whispered argument filled the air. It didn’t last long and Briina retreated a moment later. Syaoran forced himself to look away from the footprint, his stomach clenching. His thoughts were trying to pull his back to the Utaki. He never wanted to see someone he cared about with that much… Never again._ _ _ _ _ _

______He vaguely registered a deep sigh, and then he was being pulled to his feet and guided to the couch. Blocking his view of the spill. The TV turned on and flipped to a children’s channel. The arm around his shoulders never loosened its grip. There were sounds in the apartment. Running water and clinking. Shuffling and drawers creaking. Wrennen turned up the volume on the TV._ _ _ _ _ _

______Syaoran’s shaking subsided after a while. He brought up a hand to wipe at his face, blinking away the last of his tears. Nervously, he raised his head to look at Wrennen. The man was a little paler than usual, but otherwise he showed no reaction to the fact that he’d had a blade at his throat recently. There were no signs that he was going to say anything at all. His hand still gripped Syaoran’s smaller shoulder as if to keep the boy from running away._ _ _ _ _ _

______Syaoran couldn’t understand it. The more he did things that people normally pulled away from, the harder these two held on to him._ _ _ _ _ _

______He wanted to apologize for all the trouble they’d gone through, but…_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Wrennen?” Syaoran hated how his voice crackled._ _ _ _ _ _

______The man hummed, a façade of normalcy._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I… Thank you.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______His host’s eyes lit with recognition and squeezed him tighter for a moment._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yoor welgum.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Syaoran jerked, his eyes widening at the familiar phrase. Wrennen and Briina struggled so hard with his language that they rarely attempted it anymore. It was a significant gesture._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Syaoran,” Briina’s voice behind him made him clench his fists. He braced himself and turned around on the couch slowly._ _ _ _ _ _

______He needn’t worry, she had changed clothes and the kitchen was spotless. Her face was crumpled with concern and his heart skipped a beat to see that her eyes were misty as well. Hoping to comfort her, he held out a hand. She dropped onto the couch and pulled him into a hug so quickly he didn’t have time to react._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Johoa, Syaoran. Johoa wae…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Briina crushed him against her, an arm around his waist and her other hand carding through his hair. She tucked his head under her chin and whispered words he didn’t understand. The boy couldn’t recall the last time he had been held so completely. He’d been hugged, sure, but Briina was curling around him, as if trying to shield him from the rest of the world. His arms were pinned, and he had to work hard to wiggle them free enough to hug her back._ _ _ _ _ _

______How hard could he squeeze and not hurt the baby?_ _ _ _ _ _

______It was getting hard to breath. He felt that normally that would be alarming, but strangely the tighter she pressed, the freer he was. Like he spent so much energy holding himself together that now that someone else was doing it for him he felt wonderful._ _ _ _ _ _

______The relief was here. Finally. No one was hurt. They still cared about him. A lot, it seemed._ _ _ _ _ _

______Syaoran coughed a little, then let out a strangled chuckle._ _ _ _ _ _

______Wrennen scooted over on the cushions to lay a hand on his back as well._ _ _ _ _ _

______He suddenly was overcome with such fondness for these people that the idea of leaving them hurt. He pressed him face into the fabric of Briina’s shirt, committing everything he could to memory._ _ _ _ _ _

______He would treasure it all while it lasted._ _ _ _ _ _


	8. More Pancakes Please

Syaoran yelped as the rock beneath him gave way and he dropped into the water with an ungraceful splash. His feet found the smooth bottom and he stood up, shaking his head to get rid of the chill. Briina clapped and laughed merrily, clearly enjoying herself. The boy tried to wade through the current as quickly as he could without slipping so he didn’t get run over by the next slider.

Briina reached out and pulled him closer and out of the way, unable to stop laughing.

Syaoran let out a laugh as well. That had been embarrassing but no one seemed to be paying him any attention.

They had all woken up early this morning, sweaty and confused. It was already scorching outside, the humidity adding to the jungle-like feel of the world. The birds were weirdly silent, but the insects were having a field day, the air practically vibrating with their clicks and buzzes. Syaoran figured it was just an early heat wave, a sign that summer was on its way. Yet Briina and Wrennen had been beyond baffled. Their concern slowly wore away at any notion that this could be a normal event, and Syaoran’s heart plummeted. 

He had never stayed in a world long enough to find out what happened when he stayed too long.

The boy sat quietly on his bed, still in his sweat drenched pajamas and stewing over the thought, until Wrennen caught sight of his expression and smacked his wife’s arm. The man hitched a smile on his face and made an announcement. Briina ‘oooh’ed, excited by whatever was happening, and ran off to dig through the back closet. Rifling through the fridge, Wrennen whipped them up a quick, cold breakfast, and before Syaoran could process what was happening, he had been given a small backpack with towels and water bottles, and they had bundled him into the car.

He sat in the back seat, windows wide open and the hot wind blowing everyone’s hair around. Briina had even tied hers up in a half-assed ponytail just to get it off her neck, her hair not quite long enough for it to be entirely effective. Wrennen drove them drove them down through the town center, past the park and the museum, and then up the hill a little on the other side of the crater. They had to slow to a crawl when he turned the car onto a side street and the pavement fell away, replaced by worn dirt roads. Large rocks cropped up between the trees, twice as tall as any of them.

Syaoran hung partially out the window, avoiding touching any part of the hot metal. These boulders were huge and growing larger and closer together the further they drove.  
There weren’t any more houses out here, and the trees were dark and full, wild grasses exploding out in puffs wherever they could find a hold in the earth. There was more shade here than anywhere else he had seen in town and after so much sunlight it felt almost eerie. Mysterious. Branches hung low over the road, and more than once Syaoran caught sight of movement out in the forest.

He had seen the kite festival spirits more than once since that night, but here they flew around in droves. They clustered in the trees, preening and stretching their oversized wings.

“La-laa!” Briina piped up from the seat in front of him.

Syaoran pulled his head back into the vehicle and looked ahead. His heart fluttered in his chest in wonder.

There had been, at some point long, long ago, a rockslide of some sort. Or a waterfall had collapsed. Now the river had worn the rocks down so smooth that they glittered in the sun, the water branching out and creating different wavering pathways down the hill. Sometimes it leveled out and the water swirled in endless circles, carving big pool-like indentations in the stone, before overflowing and continuing its path downward.

Wrennen had to prod him to get out of the car, he was so fixated on the natural formation. He’d never seen erosion like this before and it was fascinating. 

They weren’t the only ones there of course. A few dozen people were already lazing around in the pools, sliding down some of the less steep chutes, and a cluster of younger children splashed around in a section of shallow spots. Voices echoed off the stone and added to the mystical feel of the clearing.

Briina splashed him, the freezing water shocking him out of his… okay he had just been admiring the waterfall again.

“Ah! Hey-“ A second splash got him right in the face, and from the mischievous look in Briina’s eyes, there was another one coming.

Syaoran turned sideways and ducked away from the oncoming water, waiting only a second before spinning around and sending a respectable amount right back at her.  
Briina sputtered, stepping back and shaking her dripping arms. She looked more surprised than Syaoran expected, and he almost felt bad, but then she looked up at him with vengeance in her eyes. Syaoran turned a ran the best he could, laughing helplessly.

“You started it!” He cried in his defense.

It was so slippery, with the water up past their knees, that neither of them could go very fast. Briina caught up with him after a moment with her longer legs, and when she went to grab for him, Syaoran turned quickly and smacked a handful of water behind him. He heard a short cry and Briina’s arm suddenly flailed by his face.

Had she slipped?

Syaoran spun and grabbed her before she had the chance to fall, holding firmly onto her arms to steady the woman. 

Briina was taken aback but regained her footing and her smile. She tugged him in a for a grateful hug and Syaoran relaxed, relieved that she was alright.

And then she chucked him sideways into the pool.

* * *

Syaoran spent the rest of the day staying clear of Briina. That woman did not fight fair.

Wrennen was really no better. He spent way too much time going down the natural slides and imitating Syaoran’s first tragic ride, overdramatized flailing and cries of terror.  
The boy finally trudged out of the water and sat with a wet splat by their towels. He munched on the fruit they’d brought and cheered when a particularly quick slide ended in Wrennen yelping and splashing face first into the pool for real. 

Finally vindicated, Syaoran leaned back on one hand and watched his hosts run about like a couple of children. Wrennen scooped his wife up and twirled her around, Briina’s indignant squawking echoing around the cove. He tried to dump her into one of the deeper parts, but she held onto his neck too long and yanked him along as well. 

Thoroughly soaked, the two retired to their rock and lightly toweled off. Wrennen inhaled two sandwiches and flopped face down on his towel, letting the sun bake him dry. Briina used him as a pillow and kicked her feet up, humming to herself as she stacked crackers on her growing baby bump.

Syaoran side eyed her, not putting it past the woman to find some way to shoot the water from her drink at him. 

She looked up at his wary face and winked.

Syaoran scooted further away, taking his box of fruit with him.

* * *

Face pressed against the half-lowered window, Syaoran watched the town pass by with bleary eyes. He was completely wiped out from a full day of outdoor fun. They’d played in the water, had lunch, taken a hike around in the woods, swam some more, and finally when the sun touched the top of the tree line, Wrennen declared it time to go home for dinner.

The car was hot, but it felt nice after being in frigid water all day. It warmed his weary muscles. 

Syaoran yawned, tired but content. His eyelids flicked down and came up more slowly. Briina and Wrennen talked softly in the front, their familiar voices comforting.

“Lowra meh sao la,” Briina giggled. “Rammel gesme shia wo le. Oshun have seen his face, he never saw it coming.”

Syaoran blinked groggily, his brows furrowing.

What..?

“That’s because he’s too nice. He’d never trick you and throw you in-“

Syaoran shot up in his seat, his damp towel falling to the floor.

“Wait!” Shock flooded his system. His eyes searched up and down the sidewalk frantically. “Stop, Wrennen, please!”

The car swerved into a parking spot and then Briina and Wrennen’s disbelieving faces were turned back at him. They were just as surprised as he was to suddenly understand every word.

Syaoran was out of the vehicle in an instant, turning in place and craning his neck to catch any glimpse of his family. Fai and Mokona should be able to sense him, and he should be able to find them too, but he was exhausted and frazzled and too impatient.

“What’s going on, Syaoran? Why can we-” Briina was suddenly at his side. “What’s the matter?”

Wrennen was there too.

“Its Mokona,” Syaoran explained hurriedly, not pausing in his search. “Mokona translates for us. We’re… we’re dimension travelers. But we- I got separated and we jumped at different times! If we can understand each other it means that Mokona and the others just arrived!”

The couple had identical faces of bewilderment, but they recovered quickly.

“Should we head to the Station? If they just came to town and are looking for you, I would assume they’d go there…” Wrennen asked.

Syaoran shook his head.

“No. If they’re just getting here then they’re probably just figuring out that I’m gone. And they might not even know who got here first. They could be waiting for me. I mean where would they…? How close are we to the park?”

He bounced on the balls on his feet as Briina and Wrennen processed the information.

“Um, well the park is a few minutes back towards town…” Wrennen said, thumb jerking over his shoulder the way they’d just came. “You think they’re there?”

Syaoran’s feet were already moving. Hurried footsteps behind told him they were following.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened! We left the other world like we always do and then we fell into an ocean. When I got to the surface, I was alone,” The boy struggled to grab onto the spark that was Fai. “We were only there a minute before we jumped again. They couldn’t have gotten too far!” It was everything he’d been dying to say for quite some time.

He rushed down the sidewalk, weaving around the restaurant workers who had come out to turn on their lights.

“If they weren’t that far when we jumped, then they shouldn’t be that far from where I landed.”

Syaoran looked back, catching Briina’s face as she mouthed “landed”.

He slowed when he reached the park gates, breathing heavily. His hosts were there a few moments later, looking a little winded. Briina leaned into her husband, pressing her knuckles into her hip.

“Are you okay?” The boy’s already squirming stomach gave a flop at her flushed cheeks.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. It just feels weird, I’m starting to get uh… heavier. Running feels kind of bouncy, you know?” She joked.

Syaoran definitely did not know.

“Why’d you stop, kiddo?” Wrennen rested a hand on his shoulder.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Syaoran said hesitantly, “I didn’t want to get too far ahead…”

The hand on his shoulder tightened briefly.

“You won’t lose us that easy.”

Syaoran looked Wrennen in the eye, emphatic.

“I _could_ though! You don’t understand. We don’t get to pick when we have to go. I’ve already been here so long. Too long. We may have to leave immediately to stop things from… You don’t understand. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to be anywhere!”

They looked pained by his outburst and Briina reached out to hold his hand.

“Hey, hey, Syaoran…” Wrennen rubbed his back. “You’re right. We don’t understand. But if you do have to go in a minute, we’ll be right there until the last second, okay?”

The boy nodded, his heart twisting.

“Now let’s go find your weird, tall dads!” Briina announced.

Syaoran went scarlet.

“Please don’t say that in front of them.”

Briina shrugged.

“We’ll see.”

She tugged his hand and they entered the park, the setting sun glittering on the river.

It wasn’t long before Syaoran could feel Fai, even though he was too flustered to try. Mokona usually muted her presence until they knew if a world would react poorly to a talking rabbit thing.

It was behind him. He paused, peering around Briina towards the forest.

Just beyond the tree line, the shadows were moving. The bugs had quieted down enough that Syaoran could hear raised voices carrying through the trees.

“Listen, manjuu, I don’t give a crap what happened. Next time you wait till we get the kid, got it?”

“Mokona did Mokona’s best! That thing had Kurogane! Mokona tried to slow Syaoran down! Syaoran is close. Mokona can feel it.”

Syaoran’s heart soared as his mishmashed family stepped out from the forest, still dripping wet. They were one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Kurogane was glaring daggers at everything in sight, Mokona riding on top of his head. Fai walked beside them, a hand on the ninja’s false arm. It seemed to be hanging a little stiffly at his side, fingers clenched tight.

Syaoran took half a step toward them and Fai’s head snapped up. A wide, relieved smile broke out on his face and suddenly Syaoran was sprinting.

He flew over the grass, feet barely touching the ground. 

“No need to be so cranky, Kuro-sama. Syaoran is right here!” Fai was teasing, but his tone was genuine.

Kurogane and Mokona looked up only a moment before he collided with Fai. Syaoran threw his arms around the mage. He pressed his face into Fai’s cloak, hardly believing they were real. Fai’s heartbeat thumped softly by his ear and he relished the sound.

“All right, manjuu, you didn’t do so bad. Good to see you, kid.” Kurogane’s large hand scrubbed the top of his head while Fai’s arms circled his shoulders.

“Syaoran!” Mokona cried, snuggling by his ear. “Mokona is so sorry! Syaoran had to go first and had to be all alone! A big scary thing pulled Kurogane down and Fai was trying to get it away and Mokona couldn’t see Syaoran and Mokona had to get everybody out!”

The boy was overwhelmed. Happy tears snuck past his closed lids and down his cheeks.

“Hey now, what’s this?” Fai’s kind tone had Syaoran blinking and looking up at his family, still holding on tightly.

“I’m just...” Mokona’s little paws wiped some of the tears off his face. “I’m just so happy you’re all here.”

He grinned up at them through watery eyes and they softened.

“Everyone is so happy that Syaoran is okay! We came here and Syaoran was gone and Mokona was so worried!” The little creature was near tears as well.

“How long have you been here? Hate to think you had to deal with all that Yama crap,” Kurogane grouched dismissively, but he still didn’t move his hand.

Syaoran sucked in a breath, hardly able to grasp it had been as long as it had.

“A little less than six weeks,” He kept talking when the others’ eyes went wide. “Its been okay though! Better than okay. This place is so peaceful, and I’ve actually been having a really good ti- Oh!”

He pulled away from Fai at last and waved Briina and Wrennen over. They had been holding back and keeping a respectful distance to let the boy have his private reunion. Now they eagerly came forward, eyes bright.

“This is Briina and Wrennen. I’ve been living with them since I got here. Briina, Wrennen, this is Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona!”

* * *

If Syaoran kept smiling so hard his face was going to start to hurt. 

Once Mokona said that she didn’t think her earring was going to start glowing immediately, Briina had invited them all back to stay the night at least. Fai had dried them with magic, (after asking if that kind of thing was okay here) and the five of them plus Mokona had walked back to the car, Syaoran chatting animatedly the whole time. When they’d reached the car Briina stopped, eyeing their large group and a bemused sound fell out of her mouth. Syaoran realized it would be very difficult to fit everyone inside. The instant he started fretting, Fai struck a pose and called out.

“Mommies in the front, daddies and children in the back!”

Briina snorted and covered her mouth, clambering into the driver’s seat before anyone could object. Fai threw himself into the passenger’s seat, leaving Kurogane to gawk at the low roof. Wrennen grimaced, but climbed in, Syaoran sliding in right after. Mokona danced around in Syaoran’s hands, singing to itself.

“Daddies in the back! Daddies in the back!-”

Cramped… wasn’t the right word for the situation in the back seat. Luckily it wasn’t too long of a drive and the windows were all open.

Syaoran sat, pinned between Wrennen’s shoulder and Kurogane’s side, incapable of keeping the smile from his face. He had a feeling it was the only thing keeping Kurogane from killing anyone (Fai). Every time they went over a bump Kurogane’s head banged against the roof with a dull thud. Briina drove as carefully as possible, apologizing sheepishly at each incident. Fai laughed openly, Mokona sing-songing that Daddy was too tall for this world.

The ninja grumbled about bastards calling shotgun, but when Syaoran worried that it was actually hurting him, Kurogane scoffed and told him to shut up. 

It was a relief for them all when the house was in sight.

Syaoran raced up the stairs ahead of everyone, calling hello to all the neighbors now that he could do it properly. He greeted every frog and lizard on the balcony, unable to contain his energy. Mokona matched him bounce for bounce, drinking in the attention of the awed people around them. The rest of the group climbed the steep stairs like normal people.

“Wrennen and I painted the porch a while ago,” He said proudly. “After that he took me to a museum! It was amazing! There were skeletons and these huge stones and gems that I’ve never seen before. They had so many things I couldn’t ask about, but maybe we could go back tomorrow and I can show you?” Syaoran shooed a few tiny lizards off the door so Briina could unlock it. “And all these lizards and frogs come inside sometimes, and we feed them even though I don’t really think we’re supposed to.”

He stopped talking when Briina didn’t move to unlock the door. Curious, he looked back at the four adults. 

“…What?” Everyone was staring at him.

Mokona wiggled on top of his head, giggling.

“Syaoran is talking so much!”

The boy felt a blush creeping up his neck. It was true, he hadn’t stopped talking since the park. It was just so freeing to finally be able to say all the things he wanted to for the past month. He wanted to tell Fai and Kurogane everything. He wanted to ask Briina and Wrennen so much. And now that he could… Stopping himself felt like a crime.

“I… Yeah, I guess I am, huh?” He didn’t apologize, and Briina smiled at him as she walked up and pulled out the key disk.

“Come on in and make yourselves at home, Wrennen and I can start some dinner,” Briina stepped aside and waved them in. “What should we make, Syaoran? What do you all like?”

She looked to Kurogane and Fai, but they looked unsure. 

They had no idea what types of food this world had, Syaoran realized, and it felt strange to suddenly know so much about a place that Fai and Kurogane did not. A world that wasn’t Clow, at least. 

“Could we make pancakes?” He piped up, grinning when Fai’s face lit up. Kurogane bit back a grimace but didn’t complain.

“Did you hear that, Kuro-pippi? They have pancakes here! Syaoran was right, this is a wonderful place!” Fai leaned his face in close to the ninja’s, and Kurogane closed his eyes like he was praying for patience.

Briina hid her face in a cabinet and Wrennen didn’t seem to know what to do with whatever was going on.

Mokona hopped onto the counter, twittering, “Pancakes, pancakes, pancaaaaakes…”

“What do you want me to do?” Syaoran grabbed the eggs out of the fridge for Wrennen.

There was an odd pause where his hosts snuck a meaningful look at each other.

“Syaoran why don’t you go take a bath? We’re all going to need one after the day we’ve had, but you can go first, okay? Briina and I will take ours after dinner,” Wrennen took the eggs from him and patted him on the back.

Syaoran was confused. Why would he when Fai and Kurogane had just gotten here? He sought them out for help but the two men said nothing, leaning against the half wall and watching.

“But…”

Briina pushed him gently in the direction of the bathroom.

“You’ve had a big day and you’re exhausted. Don’t think we didn’t see you nodding off in the car earlier. Go take your bath before you eat so you don’t drown later like you almost did with your soup.” 

A scandalized sound escaped him, and he sent Briina a look of betrayal.

“That was _one_ time!”

He couldn’t believe she would bring that up in front of Kurogane. 

Syaoran made his way out of the kitchen to avoid any more embarrassment but paused at the bathroom door. His heart was suddenly heavy. He wanted to stay here with everyone else…

“Mokona wants a bath with Syaoran!” The creature bounced over and Syaoran turned, catching Mokona as she collided with his chest.

His heart lightened, and he petted the top of her fuzzy head.

“Thank you, Mokona,” He whispered. The boy nodded to the others. “I’ll be right back.”

He closed the door behind him and bent to turn on the tap. Mokona explored the bathroom and hummed to herself as the tub filled. It was so warm in the apartment that Syaoran kept the water lukewarm, not wanting to overheat. The boy peeled off his dirty clothes and sighed, he really wanted to be out helping with dinner, but Briina and Wrennen probably had a lot of questions for Fai and Kurogane.

Syaoran slipped into the bath, holding out a hand for Mokona. She hopped on, holding onto his thumb. The water calmed his nerves and reminded him that he was exhausted. He leaned back against the tub and watched Mokona splash her feet in the water, giggling at the ripples it caused. There were quiet voices coming from the kitchen. The day insects were winding down and the night bugs starting their symphony of chirping. Out the window Syaoran could see the sun’s rays flickering weakly, low in the trees. It was the same scene as the first night he stayed here, and at the same time everything had changed. 

“Syaoran is so happy, but you still have a worry on your face…” Mokona trailed off, looking up at him.

“I… Mokona, I like it here. I don’t want to leave Briina and Wrennen,” The boy answered softly. He pulled his knees up and slumped down until the water hit his chin. “But I know we can’t stay. I just… The weather today- Things are starting to go wrong.”

The little creature nodded solemnly.

“Mokona can’t tell exactly when… But we will have to move on to the next world soon.”

Syaoran laid his head against the side of the tub, watching as the last beam of sunlight faded out.

“But you know, Mokona’s earring with bring us back here again, Syaoran. Briina and Wrennen have lots and lots of memories of Syaoran, so I’m sure we’ll be back again!” 

Mokona hopped over to look out the window as well.

Syaoran’s eyes widened and before he knew it, he was tearing up again. He cupped his hand around her and watched the first stars flicker to life above them.

“Thank you, Mokona.”


End file.
